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nellamaneiro'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? N/A
4.5
Minor: Child abuse and Incest
alyssa2012'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Misogyny, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Slavery, Incest, Infidelity, and Self harm
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Fire/Fire injury
yoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I originally started reading it as an ebook and I enjoyed the very beginning but it is a slow, character-driven so I ended up putting it down for a while. But glad I got the audiobook. There’s little plot so it’s a hard book to recommend but it still felt like a powerful story
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt
Minor: Emotional abuse and Physical abuse
diothyst'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
1.0
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Suicidal thoughts
emma_likes_plants's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse
bookdragonkatie'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Sexual violence, Misogyny, and Child abuse
Moderate: Violence, Vomit, Suicide, and Pregnancy
singingsfun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
“Leaving would give us the more far superior perspective we need to forgive, which is to love properly and to keep the peace according to our faith. Therefore, our leaving would not be an act of cowardice, abandonment, disobedience, or rebellion. It wouldn’t be because we were excommunicated or exiled. It would be an extreme act of faith.”
This book is heavy, depressing, infuriating, empowering, hopeful, sometimes funny, and full of faith. And I love it!
Graphic: Gaslighting, Rape, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child abuse and Suicidal thoughts
maxgold's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy
Minor: Transphobia, Suicide, and Death
laceystairs'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Domestic abuse, and Incest
electricshe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Some people don’t like the male narrator character, August, as they feel his perspective and character arc take away from the female voice, I guess. But I think he’s important. This part may get a bit spoilery, so stop here if you like. He is a useful contrast both to the women and the other more traditional men of the colony. Rather than feeling like his narration muddied the women’s voices, I felt like he creates a layer of removal from the women that is necessary for the reader to have—since we don’t know them, really—and views the proceedings with a sort of sacredness and deference. He also acts as a bridge for the reader to enter this world that many of us know little about, since he is something of an outsider himself.
You can see his constant thoughts about Ona, his relation of their asides, his overall meekness and awkwardness, and his odd anecdotes as all very off-putting. So that on one hand the women are contending with brutal and powerful men and on the other a pathetically self-pitying one. One wonders, when Ona has been raped, is pregnant, and is facing the very serious decision of whether to uproot herself from the only life she’s ever known, how she could possibly be entertaining this chemistry he feels between them. I don’t think she really is, personally. But maybe she is. Because these women—all women—have the capacity to be angry, to take action, to laugh despite horrors, to love even in hardship, and to be caring even when they themselves are in need of care. It doesn’t take away from her character if she does have affection for this man who, despite being odd, is not disparaging, patronising, cruel, or treacherous. He can’t help being the main character of his own life, he can’t help loving a woman who is good and kind. What I think is powerful about his position as the narrator of the story beyond all that is that he doesn’t matter. His own revelations and growth aren’t earth-shattering (or even revealed) to the women, and their story continues without him. Whether or not Ona loves him, her path is not about him.
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, and Pedophilia