Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'

Mexican Gothic by Silvia Moreno-Garcia

15 reviews

carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.75

What a reprehensible little family. Noemi Toboada <3 i luv u <3 I wish you'd never met them.

Very interesting concept, surprisingly thoughtfully feminist and intersectional. Underneath the

mind-controlling, life-extending, consciousness-transferring mushrooms

is a story about the use and abuse of female, non-white, and poor bodies at the hands of a colonial power and men who never hear or internalize the word "no." Is it ground-breaking or particularly deep? No. But I was glad that

the people who mattered (Catalina and Noemi) made it out alive and triumphant and that Agnes was freed. I also appreciated that, at the end of the day, Catalina and Noemi saved themselves/each other, instead of being saved by a man.

Also, learned a new word: lugubrious = adj. looking or sounding sad and dismal. It played in my head on a loop for three days after I read it. Very fun word to say, one might even say too fun to mean "sad".

Weakest part of the book for me was the romance between Francis and Noemi

, wish they just ended as friends. Though I guess the novel itself tells us that we never know what the future has in store for them, so they may very well breakup

.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Miscarriage, Vomit, Medical content, Colonisation, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic

Minor: Infertility, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and War

zoe_archambault's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

1.0

all i wanted was something like 'the hauting of the hill house' by sherley jackson but all i got was the author's gross sexual assault fantasy and a half assed mystery thrown in the background. The mystery was at least a decent backdrop that made the (MANY) assaults make sense??? but also stockholm syndrome? or mental fuckery as everything descends into madness but it was honestly done so badly and in such poor taste i hated every second of it

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Gore, Racism, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Cannibalism

angelfireeast24's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional 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: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Vomit, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Had me on the edge of my seat. I both wanted to throw the book across the room due to the unsettling nature of the subject matter and read another page to know what will happen.

I like that in the end, there was no one person being the grand hero. Everyone had their moment. All I'm thinking at the end of the story is they better not have kids together. Cause I know that it will come again down the bloodline. Also, all three of their bodies better be burnt when they die

jjamieww's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

Honestly this was hard to review. It’s a well written book that evokes a lot of emotions. 

It had such gross imagery at times I would say “ew” instinctively. It was also very disturbing, and the amount of content warning I tagged is a little ridiculous. 

But it was a book that had me curious what was actually going on. It kept escalating as it slowly unraveled. I don’t normally read horror books but this book was such a scary concept combining so many different ways to freak you out. 

Genuinely terrifying 🍄🍄

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Incest, Sexism, Blood, Mass/school shootings, and Medical trauma

Minor: Suicide

betwixtbooks's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

What a fantastic book.  I was hooked from page one.  I loved the flavour of this story and the mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Blood, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Mass/school shootings, and Pregnancy

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Racism, and Sexism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Child death, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Cannibalism, and Fire/Fire injury

kaymay29's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book starts a little slow but once you get into the mystery/plot it becomes a page turner. Also the main character is great. She is funny, relatable, and resilient.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Incest, Mental illness, Torture, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Pregnancy

lorriss's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense

• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism

Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Car accident, and War

binches's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

3.75

rating: good ⭐⭐⭐
personal enjoyment rating: very good ⭐⭐⭐⭐

loved the buildup from uncomfortable vibes over scary nightmares to an absolutely terrifying conclusion

the dialogue felt very artificial at times and the pacing was a bit too slow and dry at times (though the overall slow pacing was perfect), otherwise, it was amazing and weaves together real horrors of the past and present with an allegorical paranormal element to create a horrifying and unsettling story 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail

applesaucecreachur's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This book. This author. Rad does not even come close. The melding of colonialism with body horror with unsettling naturism with sexual violence with classic gothic themes and tropes... I was speechless. There were moments where the prose was so visceral that I physically recoiled.  Other passages took my breath away, often for more than one reason. The plot was smartly woven with secrets and hints, but historical traumas stitched the story together, increasing the reach of its creeping tendrils.

And the protagonist, Noemi Tabada. I'm not sure of her birthday, but this brown, defiant, funny, high-maintenance heroine is giving me major libra vibes and I adore her for it. 

Moreno-Garcia is beyond competent, her understandings of both proper and history combine to create a masterpiece. I hope to reread Mexican Gothic. Maybe I’ll do so during history’s next atom bomb moment.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Incest, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, and Colonisation