Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'
The Mermaid, the Witch, and the Sea by Maggie Tokuda-Hall
21 reviews
discarded_dust_jacket's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to YA fantasy in particular, is when I can tell that an author is patronizing or talking down to their reader. I think sometimes the distinction between “accessible” and “clumsily over-simplified” can get muddy.
I notice it in particular when I read an author who’s known for their adult books, but who writes YA every now and then. The writing in the YA book will be so obviously adjusted to what, presumably, the author believes will be more “palatable” to a younger audience. I don’t think that’s always being fair to young readers. There’s obviously nuance here, but I think it can seem to communicate a lack of faith in their ability to understand complexity, dark themes, or challenging language.
This book was a pleasant surprise in that regard. I didn’t feel condescended to as I read, but it was still distinctly easy to read. The narrative flowed smoothly and kept my attention. The characters were easy to care about (I appreciated the expanded points of view as the story went on), and the plot didn’t shy away from dark or heavy material (like the impacts of colonialism, the ethics of survival at all costs, etc).
I also loved that the magic system in this book takes the shape of stories and storytelling; I thought that was really beautiful and unique.
There’s quite a few loose threads left dangling at the end of this book, which I hope get picked up in the forthcoming sequel!
Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia, Torture, Vomit, Gore, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Death of parent
colloreda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Child death, Xenophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Death of parent and Alcoholism
cecinamo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Colonisation, Death, Gore, Blood, Classism, Drug abuse, Racism, Grief, Homophobia, Sexism, Addiction, Confinement, Death of parent, Violence, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Torture, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Minor: Child abuse and Child death
dealingwithdragons's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Classism, Body horror, Biphobia, Alcoholism, Trafficking, Xenophobia, Torture, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual violence, Drug use, Death of parent, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Vomit, War, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Murder, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Drug abuse, Death, Cursing, Colonisation, Child death, Child abuse, Bullying, Blood, and Addiction
rennhint's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Death of parent, Genocide, Colonisation, Slavery, Trafficking, War, Alcohol, Murder, and Sexual assault
naiu_cs's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Sexism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Torture and Alcohol
Minor: Lesbophobia, Trafficking, Death of parent, Homophobia, War, Colonisation, and Death
aexileigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Colonisation, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Torture, and Trafficking
its2early4this's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Spoiler
I couldn't stop thinking about the fact that Flora and Evelyn are swimming around living "happily ever after" while the original Evelyn's corpse rots at the bottom of the sea. Will they encounter it at some point? Just. What the heck? Kind of spoils what was supposed to be a happy ending, anyway.Graphic: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, War, Addiction, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Rape, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Deadnaming, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Dysphoria, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
This book is VERY HEAVY with a lot of its content. But if the potential misgendering/deadnaming is worrying you: it did make me a bit uncomfy at first, but as the story unfolds, it becomes clear thatSpoiler
Flora/Florian's relationship with their gender isn't clear-cut. Both names apply as do all pronouns, and a major part of the story is them coming to terms with that and growing comfortable being who they are unapologetically.malva's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Torture, Death of parent, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Rape, Slavery, Sexual assault, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, and Sexual harassment
dtierra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, War, Trafficking, and Grief
Minor: Colonisation, Confinement, Death of parent, Classism, and Drug use
There are parts of this book I loved but overall I was disappointed by how little time the main characters had together. Most of the book is spent with them apart and it is painfully slow moving. The pace of the book feels all over the place, parts of it move quite fast and other parts move painstakingly slowly. There are some really beautiful lines on the central romance but I wish there was more. I am extremely disappointed by