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risaleel'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Racial slurs, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gore, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexism, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
kittykels's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Now with that out of the way, the story itself is really good and interesting, but needed some more refining. The last few hours felt very info-dumpy. The information was important, but it was a boring delivery for the most part.
The two best friends of the main character are a weird choice. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers, but they don't really make sense as a friend group and there's no reason to feel emotionally attached to them.
It's also hard to get behind Ikenna's motivations for her actions because we don't meet her grandfather on the page, we only have her memories. We're just told he's great and that's supposed to be enough to fuel her quest and for us to be interested in that quest.
I wish there was a little more depth to Ikenna. I don't dislike her as a character, but the only emotion we get from her is anger. Sometimes she's contemplative, but that usually just leads her to being angry again. There's nothing wrong with anger and she has very good reasons to be angry, but it's not enough for us to connect with her as a person and what she's going through. We should also have experienced her grief (especially her grief) and her joy and whatever else. Some of the major events were hard to care about from her perspective because we don't really get that emotional connection. I guess it could be argued that perhaps this is an intentional choice, and Ikenna is using anger to suppress her feelings of grief and any other emotion that could distract her from her goal. I could buy this for external purposes, but it's not convincing within her private thoughts.
I do look forward to the next book and really hope to see some improvements to the characters and our emotional attachments to them.
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Gore
Moderate: Sexual content, War, Vomit, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Murder
erincrichter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, War, Medical content, Gun violence, Gore, Body horror, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Violence
snackykennedy's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Murder, Death of parent, War, Blood, Racial slurs, and Racism
taroroot's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Misogyny, Sexism, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, Blood, Xenophobia, Torture, Cannibalism, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Transphobia, Classism, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
hollyk's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Ikenna is an absolute badass. She's also flawed, and I like that she's hotheaded, impulsive, and doesn't back down. Her resilience is commendable and I think she's incredibly complex. She shows a lot of growth, but I also think a lot of other characters show growth as well, which I think can often get lost in other books. Several characters have some big changes and I am glad to see that growth.
The pacing is a little slow at first, but once the Trials start, they Startâ„¢. One of the twists is kind of obvious, but I think that the details of it are well executed and are shocking. I won't say more because spoilers. Speaking of, TW in spoilers:
I loved this book and I will not stop thinking about it for the foreseeable future
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death, Violence, Gun violence, Blood, Bullying, Gore, Medical content, Body horror, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Classism, Confinement, Racial slurs, Torture, and War
Moderate: Sexual content and Xenophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
tinyjude'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? It's complicated
4.0
Even though some of the plots were predictable and there were inconsistencies with certain characters' behaviours (probably trying to rush a growth path), it was still an addicting read that tackles subtly interesting themes such as militarism propaganda, institutional racism, institutional sexism, duty vs rightness... with a compelling world-building (i especially loved the forest trial and getting to know these abominable creatures). I am eager to see where the story takes us next and if my theories about the next book are as correct the ones i made in this one.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Grief, War, Racism, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Torture
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Colonisation and Slavery
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Racism, Animal death, Cursing, Child death, Death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, War, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Xenophobia
abiofpellinor'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Sexism, War, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Classism, Police brutality, Torture, and Self harm
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Classism, Bullying, Violence, Murder, Gore, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Racism, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexual content