Reviews tagging 'Death'
The Barrens: A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic by Kurt Johnson, Ellie Johnson
3 reviews
ferdie's review
adventurous
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The authors use of landscape to build an emotional story was so well done. I loved all the elements of the wildlife around Lee as she navigated loss and grief. In some ways, these descriptions did more to help me see the inside of Lee's mind then when she was talking about her feelings outright. When she got off the Thelon, the book lost a bit of that pacing and the emotional story felt like it was missing some punch. Overall though, I did enjoy this book and am happy to support queer Minnesota authors š
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, and Rape
Minor: Blood, Drug use, Homophobia, and Animal death
bookedbymadeline's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
5.0
Thank you to netgalley and sky horse publishing for the eARC of The Barrens: A Novel of Love and Death in the Canadian Arctic by Kurt Johnson and Ellie Johnson!
Written by two authors, a father and daughter. The daughter, Ellie, paddled the Thelon River like our MCs and the novel is loosely based on her own canoe trip and her experiences coming of age as a queer woman.
The Barrens is an adventure/survival novel that reminded me of Wild and 127 hours. I havenāt read any books in this sub-genre so it was out of my comfort zone, but so worth it ā¤ļø It was also character driven which I donāt always enjoy, itās a 50/50 chance Iāll love it or hate it. The characters were so well written and the story of finding yourself while dealing with a traumatic experience really captured me!
I was immediately pulled in and finished in just 3 days. We get to know more about Leeās past along her journey through The Barrens. Lee is such a strong MC and thereās major character development which I always love to see! Itās a dark and emotional story so take care and look at the TWs before picking this one up!Ā
My only ācomplaintā would be that we didnāt get to know Holly as much as I hoped. We only know about her from Leeās memories and the relationship Lee had with her. I wouldāve enjoyed a little more background about Holly from her own POV.
Overall a consuming, emotional adventure story that is set to be my fave of the month!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Grief, Blood, Death, Body horror, Toxic relationship, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, Homophobia, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Vomit and Cancer
audreads100's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
4.5
The Barrens by Kurt and Ellie Johnson šĀ
This story is a devastatingly beautiful LGBTQ adventure that follows a college-aged couple canoeing through the Canadian Arctic on their summer break.Ā
The rugged setting and the complicated, nuanced characters made this a instant favorite for me.Ā
This was sent to me as an ARC and comes out May 2022. I definitely would encourage you to pick it up if youĀ
- love a queer coming of age story
- enjoy adventure documentaries from the safety of your couch
- enjoy a fast paced readĀ
4.5 āļø
This story is a devastatingly beautiful LGBTQ adventure that follows a college-aged couple canoeing through the Canadian Arctic on their summer break.Ā
The rugged setting and the complicated, nuanced characters made this a instant favorite for me.Ā
This was sent to me as an ARC and comes out May 2022. I definitely would encourage you to pick it up if youĀ
- love a queer coming of age story
- enjoy adventure documentaries from the safety of your couch
- enjoy a fast paced readĀ
4.5 āļø
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death
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