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marissasa's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
coco_5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and War
misscoffeereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Racial slurs, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
orlagal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
fiveredhens'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? It's complicated
4.0
She shook her head from side to side, resigned to her rebellious brain. Why was there nothing it refused? No misery, no regret, no hateful picture too rotten to accept? Like a greedy child it snatched up everything. Just once, could it say, No thank you? I just ate and can’t hold another bite?
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, and War
mexigingerale's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
readingpicnic'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: Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Death of parent
nancymking's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
kylieqrada's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
gracer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
A lot of what was going on here obviously went way over my head. I really wish I had read this in school, as so many of my classmates did, because so much of it left me thinking, "I don't get it!" But I did a bunch of research, and thinking, and some text message discussions with friends who had read it in school, and came to get a better idea of it, and I really enjoy it when a book makes me do that. When it requires thinking and when I am actually invested enough to turn to the secondary sources and get some clarification, then says very good things about the book.
That said, I'm still of two minds about it. One part, the five star part, recognizes that the use of language is excellent, the story is moving beyond what one could expect (I've been hearing about this book since I was 14 and yet nothing could have prepared me for this). The other part, the three star part, is aware that this is not the type of writing that I really love. I like books that are concise, that feel edited, that contain multitudes in their limited pages. I am not a great fan of descriptive passages. (For example, (view spoiler).) I assume that the reason I encountered that perceived wordiness here was partially because I am missing something and partially because it was written in the 80s, and for some reason I think of books from that time as being a little more... "flowery" is the word, although it's so completely wrong for this book. It also took me a long time to come around to magical realism, and I still sometimes grapple with it when I come across it.
So, four stars - and anyway stars don't really mean anything - as a compromise, and with the understanding that maybe I'll read this again some day. I hope I will. Maybe after I've gotten a little more exposure to stream-of-consciousness and magical realism.
Graphic: Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual violence, Medical content, and Death of parent