Reviews tagging 'Sexual violence'

Harley Quinn: Reckoning by Rachael Allen

3 reviews

christikb's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring mysterious fast-paced

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

4.5

I had no idea what to expect of Harley Quinn: Reckoning. For all that Harley Quinn was introduced in an animated TV series ostensibly geared for children, her character development since then has been anything but. So a young adult book series focusing on Harleen Quinzel before she ever became a psychiatrist, before she ever fell in love with the Joker? I guess you could say I was skeptical, but because she's one of my favorite characters of all time I had to read it. And I absolutely enjoyed it! Yeah, it wasn't full-tilt, uninhibited Harley Quinn, but it wasn't meant to be. You could see how she'll develop into it, but right now, she's still at that weird 18-19 year old phase where everybody reads like a sociopath and we're just looking for our people. This book NAILED the found family aspect of Harley, her intelligence, her deep-seated loyalty, and her genuine dark moments that evolve into Harley Quinn. There were a few out-of-character YA moments of, "we can't let her really kill this guy, right?" that frustrated me a smidge, but I was far too obsessed with the story of a girl gang meting out feminist justice and coming face to face with the villains of Gotham to really get upset about it. Honestly, this book gave me all of the feminist vigilantism I could ever want and did it with a deeply diverse cast of girls "from the wrong side of the tracks." Plus it was WONDERFUL to read a Harley written by a woman!!! Really looking forward to book 2!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexism, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault

mediocremasen's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-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

3.0

I really liked the payoff to the foreshadowing. There were multiple examples of successful foreshadowing meeting satisfying conclusions.
The twists are also very interesting and compelling.
It's a fun read that maybe could have been a bit quicker, but I understand wanting to develop the world and the characters to show the differences with other canon examples.
The friendships were fun and the evolution at the wrapup in the end is realistic, if not a bit sad.

Very interested to see what happens in the next book.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Stalking, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Grief, Misogyny, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual violence, and Torture

jnl00700's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Kidnapping, Murder, Torture, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Rape, and Emotional abuse