Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Free People's Village by Sim Kern

25 reviews

joannalouise's review against another edition

emotional funny informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt

alsoapples's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring 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? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Classism, Racism, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Drug abuse, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Violence, Transphobia, Death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Addiction

mikk16's review against another edition

medium-paced

4.25

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Drug use, and Suicide

blue_txt's review against another edition

slow-paced

2.0

 There's a review on here, by Kendra, in which they suggest that Sim Kern's characters were ideas. I think that's spot on. This book is a hard read - the first 1/3 alternates between expositions of Maddie Ryan's backstory (with toxic relationships reminiscent of Colleen Hoover characters) and didactic dialogue. Every conversation is pedantic lecture from a different character representing some concept to teach Maddie, who I guess is supposed to represent the "reader", a white Christian cis woman.
I've never wanted to experience fictional leftist in-fighting.

I don't enjoy books with thought-experiment based plots, so I knew it wasn't going to be a great read for me. I guess I expected more from the characters since the plot was so paper-thin. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Alcoholism, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Classism, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Violence, Suicide, War, Death, Confinement, Racism, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Transphobia, and Xenophobia

hmknerr's review against another edition

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Police brutality, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Alcohol, and Addiction

bobbi's review against another edition

challenging reflective slow-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? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Police brutality, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Blood, Grief, Vomit, Gun violence, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Deadnaming and Transphobia

decie's review against another edition

adventurous challenging inspiring reflective 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? Yes

4.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Violence, and Drug use

Moderate: Colonisation, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Death, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Transphobia, Rape, War, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

kchamp's review against another edition

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

2.0

This book is so fucking depressing. It kind of almost redeems itself in the last 5-10 pages? But honestly this felt like a novel that did not need to be written. What is the intention of telling this made up story, with an “alternate future” that’s so obviously parallel to our own that it hardly counts as speculative? It feels lazy. What is the intended purpose of telling this story from Maddie’s perspective? Her character is so underdeveloped, flimsy, annoying, and hard to empathize with. She’s a hollow character with no defining personality trait other than “shame,” and even that feels under explored?

And oh god, don’t get me started on Red and the romantic subplot. Maddie just hops from toxic relationship to toxic relationship and it’s boring. And there was not a single moment of this book that convinced me that Red was “charming.”

I did not give a shit about Red or Maddie, and it infuriated me to have to trudge through their story for the scraps of what was actually compelling in this book. I want books about hope, not just in the last 5 pages. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Gun violence, and Police brutality

Moderate: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Police brutality, Death, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Addiction

mxfahrenheit's review

challenging emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Police brutality, Vomit, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Rape

Moderate: Classism, Violence, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Colonisation, and Deadnaming

Minor: Body shaming, Animal death, and Animal cruelty

roaming_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark hopeful informative reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

I first heard about this book on TikTok and Instagram from the author themselves and I wanted to pick it up. I am a big fan of Sim Kerns's social media posts and wanted to see if I would be a fan of their writing as well. Turns out I definitely am. This novel is set in an alternate USA timeline, during which Al Gore won the 2000 election and instead of a War on Terror, we were set on the War on Climate Change. It's something that sounds like a utopia, when in actuality, there are so many systemic issues that are masked by "saving the planet". Maddie as a main character was a great one to lead readers through, because her self discovery and learning journey felt reflective of what many people went through in 2020 during the BLM protests after the murders of George Floyd and Brianna Taylor. I did think that the commentary on systemic racism was a bit surface level. I saw another review that called it "entry level" for white people, and I have to agree with it. I enjoyed the discussions on transness and gender identity in the book and thought that the cast of characters was extremely diverse. They were fleshed-out so much that I would love a novel from each person's perspective. This book is enjoyable and really makes you think. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Police brutality, Racism, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Slavery