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bangarangbec's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Child abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
zsabella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Suicide attempt and Suicide
lakeofstars's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Violence, Colonisation, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
dlrosebyh's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicide attempt
avacadosocks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Colonisation, Medical trauma, Medical content, Gore, and Body horror
Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexual content
ostenreal's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Death, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Body horror, Murder, and Suicide
laurareads87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Murder, Colonisation, Torture, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death, and Medical content
charlotteregan's review against another edition
- 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
Finished: 052023
Reviewed: 061223
I am not the same after having read TVB. Me taking too long to fully review this book says a lot about it. If you’ve read negative things about this book, don’t listen to them. DO NOT. I kid you not, you have to read this book.
Jimenez’s writing has me in awe, it perfectly captured my entire being just from its first chapter. His compelling and complex characters, alongside its vivid and incredible setting/plot, gripped me, making me not want to put the book down. Tbf, I was traveling while reading this book and when I reached the last chapter and the last lines, I forced myself to not cry because I was with my family and I wasn’t gonna cry there. But the night after I finished TVB, I couldn’t stop thinking about it and how it made me feel so many emotions all at once. I have a thing for books that can elicit the strong and hidden emotions inside of me, yup.
The lines here about scientific progress and the effects of capitalism and the planet full of dogs and distancing yourself from others AND LITERALLY FUMIKO WERE INCREDIBLE, I HAVE NO WORDS. How did Jimenez debut with this novel?? HOW?? IS HE A MASTERMIND??? I will never know. The found-family here was even more insane.
ALSO FUMIKODANA. FUMIKODANA. I CANNOT TALK ABOUT THEM WITHOUT CRYING. LISTEN TO ILLICIT AFFAIRS AND CLOSURE BY TAYLOR SWIFT AND CRY WITH ME ISTG THEY WRECKED ME AND I WILL NEVER READ OR HEAR THE WORD CHERRY BLOSSOMS THE SAME ANYMORE.
It was the movement that did it. The way she tucked the nozzle against her right temple, until the nozzle became a cherry blossom, tucked behind her ear by a blond woman with purple eyes, and the pistol slipped from her trembling hand, clattering to the floor, as did her knees, as she wept, for after centuries, she remembered Dana’s name.
AND AHRO MY BABY. 😭😭😭😭😭😭 I CAN’T SAY ANYTHING SO I’LL JUST CRY.
LASTLY, NIA AND THE CREW OH MY GOD JIMENEZ WILL PAY FOR WHAT HE DID WITH THEM. 😭 NIA IMANI IS SO JUST LIKE ME IT’S SCARY HOW JIMENEZ WROTE HER.
I have no words anymore. If you wanna read this book, read it. If you don’t, I get it because who would wanna read 400 pages of grief?? NO ONE.
Graphic: Suicide attempt
quinnjuliac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Suicide, Slavery, Child abuse, Torture, Colonisation, Suicide attempt, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Vomit
vsnuffles's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
This was an excellent and incredibly depressing read. I recommend reading it with caution due to just how very sad it is - it's definitely worth it but you'll want to be ready for some self-care afterwards. Do not expect a happy ending unless you like being very sad.
More in-depth:
The world-building is excellent: it's such a well thought-out future setting and the details of it are so elegantly incorporated it never feels like too much or too little. The writing was so good it was almost poetic at times, it was quite beautiful and poignant. The characters are grey and interesting. You get to see how they impact each other and the book has an excellent way of zooming out through the first few chapters, expanding the world before it settles on a more continuous story. It is a very bleak story and world, quite dystopian in a way that would feel cyberpunk if it were more focused on the digital world. Some mild spoilers for the tone of the ending/story overall:
If I had to say the story has a theme woven throughout I would have to say it is about cruelty and exploitation of humans through colonialization and capitalism. There is plenty more going on in the very well written characters, how they are shaped by their traumas in good and bad ways and being able to see how they grow based on how they react to their circumstances.
Moderate: Grief and Physical abuse
Minor: Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Blood, Alcohol, Murder, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, Deportation, Confinement, and Sexual content