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ktaroo939's review against another edition
5.0
Couldn’t put it down
Fantastic book! Like a cross between The Handmaids Tale and the movie The Village. Horrifying and heartbreaking but full of strong and powerful characters. It’s a book that will stay with me.
Fantastic book! Like a cross between The Handmaids Tale and the movie The Village. Horrifying and heartbreaking but full of strong and powerful characters. It’s a book that will stay with me.
teaandbooksnuggery's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
This book punched me in the gut and then the tears started to flow. I think I’ll forever be on the beach with those girls.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Incest, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
lawryn's review against another edition
4.0
This was a delicious mix of post-apocalyptic, dystopian, and cultish themes that kept me hooked. The only think I didn’t love was the ended - I wanted closer
rae_swabey's review against another edition
5.0
Firstly, I need to put a trigger warning here. This is a disturbing book and contains child sexual abuse, so it won’t be for everyone.
It is, however, a powerful piece of writing, hugely compelling and affecting. A reviewer quoted on the cover describes it as ‘Handmaid’s Tale meets Lord of the Flies’ and that seems pretty on-the-money to me.
Gather the Daughters is set on an island, a couple of generations after some kind of apocalyptic event. The children grow up fast before being married off as teens, but every summer they’re set free on the island to run feral, covering themselves with mud to ward off mosquitoes, fighting and generally running amok.
The writing is gorgeous and by telling the story from the perspective of various girls on the island, Melamed creates an effect that’s both polyphonic and specific - it is very much the ‘daughters’’ point of view we get here, so, while the different narrators have their own individual takes, they are all subject to the similar forces of the highly prescribed role of their age and sex in this strange yet hauntingly familiar society.
It is that tension between familiarity and strangeness that makes this such a disturbing read. And there are other contradictions here too. This is a story that seems at the same time simple and complex. It is pacy and easy to read, but speaks to so many themes - loss of innocence, patriarchy, community, freedom, leadership, religion and belief, and what it means to live a fulfilling life - that it stayed with me long after I’d put it down. It has an allegorical quality that makes it seem timeless, but also seemed to me to speak to many contemporary concerns.
Thoroughly recommend this book, trigger warnings notwithstanding. An amazing story that had me absolutely gripped.
It is, however, a powerful piece of writing, hugely compelling and affecting. A reviewer quoted on the cover describes it as ‘Handmaid’s Tale meets Lord of the Flies’ and that seems pretty on-the-money to me.
Gather the Daughters is set on an island, a couple of generations after some kind of apocalyptic event. The children grow up fast before being married off as teens, but every summer they’re set free on the island to run feral, covering themselves with mud to ward off mosquitoes, fighting and generally running amok.
The writing is gorgeous and by telling the story from the perspective of various girls on the island, Melamed creates an effect that’s both polyphonic and specific - it is very much the ‘daughters’’ point of view we get here, so, while the different narrators have their own individual takes, they are all subject to the similar forces of the highly prescribed role of their age and sex in this strange yet hauntingly familiar society.
It is that tension between familiarity and strangeness that makes this such a disturbing read. And there are other contradictions here too. This is a story that seems at the same time simple and complex. It is pacy and easy to read, but speaks to so many themes - loss of innocence, patriarchy, community, freedom, leadership, religion and belief, and what it means to live a fulfilling life - that it stayed with me long after I’d put it down. It has an allegorical quality that makes it seem timeless, but also seemed to me to speak to many contemporary concerns.
Thoroughly recommend this book, trigger warnings notwithstanding. An amazing story that had me absolutely gripped.
laurajaylive's review against another edition
5.0
What an insightful and new way to think of the future! I loved this storyline. First of all, the characters were great and I was invested in their outcome from the beginning. Second, the corruption and complete lack of normalcy that we find in the pages was fascinating. I loved that the world Jennie Melamed created is believable and intriguing, yet repulsive at the same time.
jgrady93's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Child abuse, and Child death
paguroidea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Felt like more could have been said or expanded on with the themes, characters, and the world itself. Thankfully with all the CSA content less is said about it as well, it’s alluded to, not graphically detailed. It’s enough to piece together how all the girls and women are abused. The cult reminds me of FLDS.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Pedophilia, Rape, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Incest
jarofbees's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
gabrielleint's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
booklectic's review against another edition
I dont know, i just cant go on any longer- what the point of this book? I dont understand. I'm normally ok with abuse/assaults/gore in the books [only if it leads somewhere, a precursor of an event, SOMETHING] but there's a lot of it in this one- and none of it leads anywhere.
its like `yo this this thing happened`
"allright what's gonna happen next? what are the characters gonna do about it?"
`well its gonna happen again, and uH the character(s) are loving the abuse and they wont do anything about it`
The plot goes nowhere. Its just a book about very bad people and the victims not knowing that they are a victim. Just, no. nope.
Also, I dont understand the fixation with mud, mosquitos and letting ut children for an entire summer to act savagely. This book confused me a lot. It has been more than 24h since i completed it and I'm still thinking about it. [Frustrated is the more appropriate emotion here].
its like `yo this this thing happened`
"allright what's gonna happen next? what are the characters gonna do about it?"
`well its gonna happen again, and uH the character(s) are loving the abuse and they wont do anything about it`
The plot goes nowhere. Its just a book about very bad people and the victims not knowing that they are a victim. Just, no. nope.
Also, I dont understand the fixation with mud, mosquitos and letting ut children for an entire summer to act savagely. This book confused me a lot. It has been more than 24h since i completed it and I'm still thinking about it. [Frustrated is the more appropriate emotion here].