Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Winter Counts by David Heska Wanbli Weiden

28 reviews

enchantressreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Racism

Moderate: Drug use, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Rape, and Drug abuse

Minor: Cancer, War, Death of parent, Medical content, and Miscarriage

lanid's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Blood, Murder, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, and Gun violence

shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition

dark informative 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

4.0

 I gobbled this mystery down. set on the Rosebud Indian Reservation in South Dakota, it's a fast-paced thriller with lots of details about life today on a Lakota rez.

Virgil Wounded Horse is a complicated man who metes out just when the tribal council and US legal system can't. Someone is selling heroin on the reservation, and when Virgil's own nephew overdoses, Virgil makes it his mission to find and stop the dealers.

Very good writing abut the land, different concepts of justice, and the convoluted legal systems on many Native reservations which deny indigenous people justice. 

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, and Colonisation

voxelbee's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, and Murder

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, and Torture

Minor: Racial slurs, Colonisation, Bullying, Car accident, and Genocide

maregred's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark inspiring mysterious reflective medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Bullying, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, and Colonisation

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Suicide

dominicangirl's review

hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Drug use, and Racism

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Genocide, and Kidnapping

Minor: Racial slurs

brookey8888's review

dark emotional informative mysterious medium-paced

• 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

3.0

This started off really strong, but then I lost interest with where the story went. I loved learning more about Indian customs and beliefs. I also thought it was great/important that the author talked about how the feds literally do nothing to help in cases and the drug problems. I just wish this focused more on his vigilante stuff. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence

davidbythebay's review

adventurous emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-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

I have a hard time with mystery and thriller books. Often I find them predictable and slow. Not here. Yes, I did guess a few twists but not anything major. That alone impressed me. But further than that, I found the writing accessible and clear. I struggled with some of the Lakota words and would have liked a pronunciation guide and glossary, but that’s me. They were defined either directly or contextually which was enough to know what was going on. 

The writing was fast paced and flowed so beautifully. It was rich and I could see and smell and taste and hear everything Virgil Wounded Horse and the other characters experienced. It was so beautifully done. 

I would like to see the author write more in this world with these characters. (Prequels? Sequels? Just tangential loosely related novels? Whatever.) The ending is open for further stories just enough to be enticed. And the definitive fates of certain characters are not known and I would like to see what happened there, but I am sufficiently happy with how it was all handled. Not every string needs a bow, just a loose knot is enough. 

I am always interested in the spiritual aspects of different cultures and religions. This had such a beautiful amount of spiritual events that I will absolutely be reading more about these and other Indigenous peoples. I thought it was not only a wonderful look into a culture that is generally glossed over in white American schools, but also a history that is seldom told. I learned about the Battle of Little Big Horn in school and that there were numerous casualties with the Indigenous population suffering great losses. I never heard the perspective of it being a genocidal slaughter like it is expressed here. I had my hunches, but never knew about these events enough. I’ve always wanted to read more Indigenous history and culture and now I am excited to begin soon. 

I highly recommend reading this is you love mysteries, thrillers, family dramas, and even justice and philosophical texts as there is enough to discuss and explore more. And that feeling of joy and wanting to explore topics more is the highest praise I think a book can ever be given. Five stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Gun violence

Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

markedwithanm's review

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Racism

lairofbooks's review

dark informative reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Rape, Suicide, Racial slurs, Violence, Drug use, Child death, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, and Torture