Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Pik-Ass by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

23 reviews

buttermellow's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Death of parent

k8lynn's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

i love this book!!! could not stop reading it & when i wasn't reading it i was thinking about it. the audiobook only enhanced this experience!!

*also trigger warning for gay people being forcibly outed to the public

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

I don’t want to write too much about this read, because I fear I would spoil something by accident, and I truly think the best way to experience this book is to go in not knowing much about the plot, so that you’re as confused as the MCs and disocvering the trurth right alongside them. The only reason I’m giving this less than five stars is because of some pacing issues. The first half could have been tightened up more, and more time needed to be spent on the climax. There was also an aspect of one MC that felt a bit shoehorned in and underdeveloped. But other than that, this was a truly phenomenal read, both insightful and harrowing. There were so many layers to the plot and characters that Àbíké-Íyímídé artfully constructed and peeled back for the reader. I can see why everyone raves about this work, and I’m really looking forward to reading Àbíké-Íyímídé’s 2024 release.

Rep: gay Black MC, sapphic biracial Black/white Italian/Nigerian-American MC, bi SC, Black Achillean SC

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Outing, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

Major: three uses of the n-slur, eugenics Moderate: imprisoned loved one, capital punishment Minor: disownment, toxic masculinity, texturism, sick loved one, suicidal ideation, disordered eating

dalek_caan's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I feel like there is no feedback I can provide that can do this book the justice that it deserves other than to say go read it. I was on the edge of my seat the whole book through, and was really emotionally invested in the characters, the plot, and the overall messages of the book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt

ka_schulze's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Child death, Death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent

lily1304's review against another edition

mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes

3.5

Good page-turner allegorical YA thriller - I loved the extreme differences between the two main characters, that collapse as the story progresses and they find themselves as a team against the world. I found myself googling

social eugenics

to find out if that's real! I could see some of the twists coming, but it felt like yelling at a character in a horror movie - still mesmerizing and believable that the characters would act the way they do.

The one thing that was so glaring and distracting: the story takes place in the US, but the author is not American. At first I assumed she was either a first- or second-generation Nigerian immigrant to the US, but it became obvious quickly that she is actually from the UK. She stated in the author's note that she didn't set the story in a particular region or city intentionally, to make the story more universal I guess, but it was distracting! The homophobia,

state execution

, and references to the Confederacy point to the South, but the British-style school being founded in 1717 points to New England. And there are absolutely no references to Christianity, which feels immediately out of place in a conservative private school. It would definitely be either Catholic or evangelical - it's honestly unbelievable that Christianity plays no role in the story.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Racism, and Death of parent

allisonbrooke's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

This was absolutely not what I expected it to be. It was thrilling, infuriating, and heartbreaking all at the same time. I thought some of the author’s beliefs were maybe spelled out a little too much rather than being less obvious and allowing the reader to come to the same conclusion but because of the subject matter and the target audience, I understand why it’s written that way. Also, there were a few scenes that were written in a way that felt too over the top and unbelievable to me, but being a white woman, it could be that my limited personal experience with racism has created a blindspot that disallows me to see something like those scenes actually happening in real life. Despite the two critiques of this novel, I really enjoyed it. It was fast paced and interesting and I think teenagers will really enjoy it and adults could really learn from it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

secretcakeparty's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Racism

Moderate: Death and Car accident

averyrembish's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, and Car accident

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol