Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

Monstersona by Chloe Spencer

3 reviews

elliott_the_clementine's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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? Yes

4.5

Let me begin by saying that this book is not what I expected. I thought Monstersona would be kind of like a queer version of the dystopian-style young-adult fiction novels of my childhood; instead, I found an absolutely unhinged horror-romance-thriller that functions as a multilayered story showing the complexities of trauma, grief, and recovery. This book is perfect for fans of Jennifer’s Body (the most bisexual horror film of all time, and specifically mentioned in this book!), the television series Daybreak and The Last of Us, and literally any kind of horror-comedy media. 

Also, there is an amazing dog! His name is Tigger and I love him. 
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amandadevoursbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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

3.75

 The promise of this book is great. Queer monster Thelma and Louise as a YA novel. YES. YES. YES. With a dog. YES. I love all these things. The writing is tight, fast-paced, and it pushed me through the novel beautifully. 
 
 Riley's mom is at work. Her classmates at her new school are at homecoming, and Riley is home with her dog. Suddenly, the town catches fire and Riley hops in the car with her dog and evacuates. On the way she picks up a mysterious hot class mate. As they drive across the US, they are chased by mysterious figures, and not is all what it seems. It's a classic road trip, coming of age story that focuses on who the real monsters are. 
 
 There was a bit of pacing issues right at the end. It short changed the relationship between the dad and daughter. My biggest issue was mid-book there was just some blatant fat phobia and diet culture that I wish had been handled differently. 
 
 If you like YA fantasy, monsters, road trips, forced proximity, bad parents, and the good guys being chased, check this out. You might like it. 
 
 If towns going up in flames and killing thousands of people is too much right now, I would suggest skipping this. 

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motaki's review

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

3.75

I loved the portrayal of grief, it felt painfully real.
I'm so sad I couldn't connect enough with Riley, she's a kid and she's going through a lot but that doesn't make it up for her endless string of bad choices.
I would have loved a second POV, following Aspen around would have been so much better for us readers, such an interesting character, I wanted to know more.
The ending felt too rushed,
both MC's dads are awful, why would anyone choose to go back to live with a manipulative POS of a father? Ri, I don't get you at all
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