Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Unmaking of June Farrow by Adrienne Young

10 reviews

katievallin's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.75

This was so beautiful, and it's left an ache in me that feels a bit like grief.

I liked the time travel and amnesia tropes,

and the romance was so beautiful. I related to the small, southern town aspect even though I didn't grow up in Appalachia.

I'm sad that the only kind of Christianity that the Farrows were exposed to was the yucky kind, but I also related to a bit of the theology and attitudes from my own childhood.

This book makes me think about prejudices against people who are seen as odd and about the assumption that mental illness is always obvious.

I thought there wasn't really closure for June's friendship with Mason, which was a bit disappointing; but I also like that it wasn't wrapped up super neatly because that seems more realistic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Police brutality, Grief, Cursing, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Stalking, and Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and Gun violence

mizmanderz's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence and Domestic abuse

Minor: Death of parent and Child death

theoceanrose's review

adventurous emotional medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Gun violence, Abandonment, Murder, Violence, and Death

bookishkale's review against another edition

adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

I thought the prose was well done, and very vivid and vibrant. There felt like there was a little too much going on, and it all made sense at the end but I felt like there was a little too much pushed under the rug with the main plot. I liked June a lot, and I understood her fears and worries. I really liked her and Eamon together, though I found it frustrated at times when he didn’t trust her

because she wasn’t ‘his’ June… because she is? She just doesn’t have all the same memories?

I liked the threads that tied through the whole book but at some points, I think it was just the plot of the book that made it a little messy. Some threads (even if I liked them!) were a little too obvious, but I did listen to the audiobook so that might have changed somethings. 

For any interested audio listeners, I thought the narrator did a pretty great job, but sometimes I felt like she had a hard time with Eamon’s voice. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Emotional abuse, Blood, Abortion, and Abandonment

whatbeccareadnext's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

Adrienne Young writes the most beautiful prose. I adored this novel. It was a little bit outside of my usual genre, but I was absolutely captivated by the mystery and magic of June's life. I read Adrienne's other adult novel 'Spells for Forgetting' when it came out last year and, although I did enjoy it, it wasn't something I found myself thinking about or wanting to read again. This story, however, had me hooked all the way through. It is relatively short, which helped keep the story moving at a good pace, and it is full of intrigue and mystery and just a dash of romance. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Blood

Moderate: Blood, Police brutality, Gun violence, Murder, Sexual content, Stalking, Death, Abandonment, and Death of parent

Minor: Pregnancy, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Gun violence, Police brutality, Gore, and Violence

elizabeth_lepore's review

emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence

ctara2123's review

adventurous emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Death of parent

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Domestic abuse and Child death

theespressoedition's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Blood, and Murder

Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, Stalking, and Gun violence

classical_learner's review

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-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

5.0

Wow! This book is absolutely incredible. Tender, yet serious; easy to read, yet enrapturing; dangerous, yet imbued with family love. The way this book made my heart feel is indescribable—if you want bittersweet yet fulfilling in a book, this is the one to read. A great mix of mystery with character journey. 
As far as the logistics of its time travel goes, for magical realism, it is very coherent; by the end of the book, however, I didn’t full track and was not absolutely certain it made sense. But, by that point I didn’t care. 
Heads up on some moderate spice in the last third of the book—nothing terribly explicit (hands on bare skin and whatnot) but I wouldn’t recommend to anyone too young. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, and Death of parent

Minor: Gun violence

lizgriffinwords's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I don't know what kind of addictive magical substance Adrienne Young puts in her books to make them SO GOOD in such a short page count. Like Spells for Forgetting, The Unmaking of June Farrow blends multiple genres: magical realism, mystery, and a pinch of star-crossed romance. I hesitate to touch on the plot for fear of accidental spoilers, so I'll just say that the cursed Farrow women were a joy to read about. Young employs the same masterful pacing and tension that will keep readers turning page after page, chapter after chapter, with a frenzy.
Will also mention the audiobook is excellent.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment

Minor: Religious bigotry and Gun violence