Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Things She's Seen by Ezekiel Kwaymullina, Ambelin Kwaymullina

9 reviews

tinypotato21's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Toxic relationship, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Child death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, Death, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping

jadejade's review against another edition

hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

This was a fast and interesting read but please check the trigger warnings. It gave me similar vibes to A Monster Calls, which I also enjoyed, but with an Australian Aboriginal voice. Apparently an alternative title for this novella is The Things She's Seen but I think Catching Teller Crow is a more memorable title.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Drug abuse

awkwardimagination's review

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

This is an ghost story about grief and hope. It spans across the past and present to create this nonlinear, multigenerational story about Aboriginal women/girls. The beginning to middle was kinda mediocre - interesting but not anything great. The middle to end was were it started to hit and I started having fun (for lack of better word) with reading, sleuthing out the meaning behind Catching's story. Speaking of Catching, there is something special about her character that I love. She gets straight to the point and her chapters are written in a nontraditional way that reflects her personality well. Beth herself was kind of annoying at times, but it was forgivable considering her circumstances and wasn't something I hated. I liked this book much better than I thought I would despite the bland start because eventhough I was a little bored with it, it was still intriguing to read. I say give this a try if youre looking for something fast to read. Not something light, fast because this book is dark.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Hate crime, Death of parent, Grief, and Torture

Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit

Minor: Addiction and Colonisation

careinthelibrary's review

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

I finished The Things She's Seen (known as Catching Teller Crow in some countries) by Ambelin and Ezekiel Kwaymullina today. It's one I've owned for a while and finally got around to it. 

On the surface it's a YA ghost story and mystery, but there is so much bubbling under the surface here. The "enduring strength of Aboriginal women and girls" despite facing disproportionate, horrific violence, the direct and indirect impacts of the Stolen Generations which I want to learn more about, ancient storytelling of Aboriginal peoples. A ghost story, a crime thriller, found sisterhood, father-daughter growing their relationship beyond the barrier of death. 

It's a lot wrapped up in a short, fast novel. This hits the ground running and the pace rarely lets up. Its wide array of genres and themes makes me think it would appeal to a lot of different kinds of readers. I wish it had a more striking cover that captured the themes and tone of the book better. 

Death is only the beginning. And the end is the beginning that hasn't happened yet.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Colonisation, Rape, Murder, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Death, Confinement, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Car accident, and Racism

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional medium-paced

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

4.5

This story is one that has stayed with me after finishing it. It might not be a long book but it spends every page crafting an impactful story. 

This books mainly focuses on grief and coming to terms with loss. This is done through a few characters that we met through out the book, but the main being Beth Teller's father. The book deals with grief and loss through a case that Beth's father is trying to solve. It is also through this case that the author shows the discrimination against Australian Aboriginals endure. From cold cases of missing young aboriginal girls, how they are taken advantage of, and the racisms that is present through the country.

I thought this is a well crafted book and something that will keep you thinking long after you have finished. I highly recommend this read for the story and the characters that go through very real emotions and reactions to everything.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Sexual violence, and Grief

Moderate: Physical abuse, Racism, and Death

Minor: Death of parent

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad 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? No

4.5

The mystery storyline of this book was great and kept the plot moving, but I also loved that the mystery wasn’t the point of the book. Its significance lay in its exposure of the brutality of colonisation, and its beautiful and heartbreaking exploration of grief. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Colonisation, Child abuse, Death, Grief, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Racism, Gore, Body horror, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Medical content, Drug use, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Ableism, Bullying, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, and Self harm

Colourism, the Stolen Generations, police corruption

isabel_c's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious fast-paced

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

3.25

This was cute and I really liked the last 25% especially when we see the links of aboriginal heritage in the main characters. Overall this book was not my favorite but I do appreciate the way in which the authors made the dark side of aboriginal history more accessible to a younger audience. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Child death, Murder, Hate crime, and Sexual assault

ashleycmms's review

adventurous 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Blood, Car accident, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Torture, Violence, and Vomit

bookcaptivated's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious reflective sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood and Grief

Moderate: Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Torture, Vomit, Death, and Murder

Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug abuse, and Rape