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Reviews tagging 'Mass/school shootings'
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes by Clay McLeod Chapman
23 reviews
aquaphase's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Wake Up and Open Your Eyes did not disappoint in the slightest.
The story opens innocently enough. Noah Fairchild is a liberal family man living in Brooklyn who has distanced himself a bit from his Richmond, Virginia family after their years-long slide into the far-right cable media. When Noah’s mother leaves a voicemail rambling about the “Great Reawakening,” and Noah can’t reach her for clarification; he gets a tad concerned and sets out for Virginia to get to the bottom of this.
What Noah finds is an utter nightmare, that, it turns out, isn’t just confined to his family: people across the country appear to be infected with a media-fueled demonic possession; fueled by exposure to television, apps, and other content.
One of the things I appreciated the most in the presentation of this story was the implied multimedia presentation of the situation. Switching between recounts of TikTok feeds, news reports, personal videos, and other sources, the reader gets a quick snapshot of the insanity that seems to be spreading though the nation. The fever dream inclusion of Anderson Cooper as an imaginary narrator at one point really just drives the insanity aspect of this story home.
As always with Mr. Chapman, Wake Up and Open Your Eyes is very worth picking up. It’ll very much make you question where the “sickness” comes from. Just a bit of FYI, it has absolutely every single content warning that one might be able to think of. Definitely not for the faint of heart.
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Classism
eevee314's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
2.25
I partially blame the book blurb because I wanted a different book that I got but still I adjusted.
There was a lack of nuance where It just started to feel like punching down half way through the book. Plus the change in voice in the back quarter killed any sense of tention that the front half was actually quite good at maintaining.
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings
Trigger warning for every fox news talking point you can think off.aghoststory's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Gore, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death and Mass/school shootings
2ratsinacoat's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I really liked this book. I thought the themes were intriguing and noteworthy, and the ideas were fresh. I do think that having a fresh and unique idea can get you far, but… I think the things were a bit heavy handed. That’s cool, I just was hoping for something a bit more thought provoking. Fair warning, there is a lot, and I mean a lot of gore/sexuality, and not in a fun way. The ending wasn’t my favorite, but I still really liked it! If you don’t like political criticism of either side, then don’t read, but I found it enjoyable.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
talislibrary's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Mass/school shootings
aliciawithoutkeys's review against another edition
Graphic: Incest, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Racism and Mass/school shootings
funbrarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
kp1231's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Mass/school shootings
ellereadsalottt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
bibliograflieg's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, and Death of parent