Reviews tagging 'Child death'

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown by Holly Black

11 reviews

louisepea's review

adventurous dark funny 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? Yes

3.0

A little too young adult to be fully enjoyable for me, but Holly Black's story-telling was beautiful and immersive, as always. 

Unlike her Folk of the Air series, this is one YA book I think is best suited to teenagers. Especially those who've ever thought about running away from home to become or befriend a vampire.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Violence, Death, Gore, Blood, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Toxic friendship, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, and Confinement

librarymouse's review

adventurous dark funny 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

4.5

I read this book for the first time when it came out in 2013. Over a decade later, I am so happy that this book has held up against the memory I had of reading it for the first time. It does hit some of the pitfalls of other vampire fiction, like a man who looks young but is nearly a century old falling in love with a seventeen year old girl. However, Holly Black's exploration of the characters and the reasoning behind the formation of their mutual interest being rooted in something other than just physical attraction, made it far less icky than it could have been. With the impulsivity of the young vampires and the impulsivity and hedonism of the vampires who were turned at a young age, it makes me wonder if there is a halting of mental and emotional development at the age at which they were turned in this iteration of vampire lore. This book is absolutely blood-soaked, with descriptive explanations of viscera and torture, but it is also incredibly funny, and oddly very human.

I really thought Aiden was going to kill Pearl after his shenanigans and coercion after being turned. It was a nice twist to see that even as they've become morally gray, they're still the same characters - the existential question underlying the entire book

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Body horror, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Toxic relationship, Cannibalism, Death, Mental illness, and Suicide

Moderate: Drug use and Infidelity

Minor: Dysphoria and Excrement

wrensreadingroom's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark funny mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Animal death, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Classism, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Cannibalism, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Dysphoria, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Torture, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Violence

laurenevlyn's review

adventurous dark emotional reflective 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

5.0

One of the most entertaining books I’ve ever read. I’m in awe at Holly Black and her ability to create such complex characters and stories. This books was as much a commentary on society and romanticization as it was a story. I loved both aspects of it. I believe I may be thoroughly in love with both Tana and Gavriel. Speaking of, I also adored how Tana got shit done. She had such reasonable thought processes and the kind of common sense that is rare among YA protagonists. All in all, an incredible book!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Gore, Death of parent, Murder, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Violence

Moderate: Body horror, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Self harm and Suicidal thoughts

ghostlyprince's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Blood, Grief, Violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cannibalism, Death, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, and Torture

Moderate: Confinement, Abandonment, Suicide, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Animal cruelty, Police brutality, Sexual content, Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Body horror, Animal death, Body shaming, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, and Vomit

ravenclawincabin13's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Child death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction and Alcoholism

Minor: Animal cruelty

spaghettii's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

5.0

I wasn't going to read it because of the title and the cover but thank the lord I changed my mind 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Violence, Alcohol, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, and Child death

booksthatburn's review against another edition

The introduction was engaging, and I like this version of vampirism. The worldbuilding around vampires and how the humans react is interesting and works pretty well. The story just moved too slowly to keep me engaged, and I couldn't stay interested in the main character with the decisions she was making. I don't have anything specifically negative to say about the book, it just wasn't working for me. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, Child death, Murder, Self harm, and Death

Minor: Gun violence

sauvageloup's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

Brilliant, gripping and highly enjoyable!

Pros:
- FINALLY FINISHED A FICTION BOOK AHHHHH. and this book made it easy - it was almost exactly what i enjoy, whilst still being fresh, with great writing and very engaging.
- I liked the explicit but casual inclusion of Valentina as a trans woman. Its not made a big point of, Jameson and Tana immediately accept her and it was just great to see in a book from 2013! Aidan is also bisexual and though he isn't a perfect guy (and yes kinda plays into the awful 'bisexuals are promiscuous' trope, is still a likeable and desirable character who is never shamed for liking guys too.
- Tana hits just right as a character trying to do the right thing most of the time,,, but also being human and messy. Her desire for Gavriel and his for her never tries to excuse itself as healthy or romantic, it just is. In fact, the book deals seriously with how media portrays dangerous situation and how it lures people in, the good, the bad and the misguided, with delusions about achieving your desires. It deals with how capitalism handicaps proper progress in how the Coldtowns still mainly exist because of how much money they bring in. The troubling abuses of this, especially in how Tana's sister is able to go there alone, is explored and how the underdogs (the humans, the poor) are the ones who have it worse. The vampires from old money, they aren't even bound to the Coldtowns at all. So yeah, the political commentary is subtle but fascinating and on point.
- Tana's trauma from that night is palpable throughout. It's never brushed away, but shows how she struggles to go on, how she suppresses it throughout. The violence never felt gratuitous but always hit right on with the horror of each bit. And if the reader ever got complacent with the gore, it's brought back home again.
- Overall, she just felt a lot like a real person, tryna do the right thing, keep herself human, protect her sister, whilst also dealing with own desires. I liked that there was no perfect ending, though it was still hopeful. Tana has a plan, a sister to go back to, Aidan's going to be okay and the big bad, Lucien, was defeated. Gavriel and Tana might have a future together or probably not, but he's what she needs in the moment, which is someone a bit too dark and fucked up to be healthy, but exactly what she needs to survive.
- The shots of humour in there were also great, and I liked the worldbuilding a lot. The premise isn't the most original thing, it's how it was carried off that really made it special. 

Cons:
- Maybe i was never fully convinced by Gavriel's reason for being attracted to Tana, but there were reasons given and they weren't bad ones.
- I don't know?? maybe i didn't LOVE Tana or tear-up when the bad shit went down, but honestly I was racing through it and enjoyed every bit.

All in all, a thrilling angst-fest that definitely makes me want to read more Holly Black.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail

anidharker's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• 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

 And today I learnt not to judge a book by its seriously silly name.
Edit: came back after rereading, thinking "I definitely gave this 5 stars, right?". It had 4. I fixed it.
2021 edit: still enjoyed it just as much as the other times. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Murder, Grief, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Blood

Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, and Vomit

Minor: Body horror, Child death, and Toxic relationship