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cheshiredownunder's review against another edition
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Sexism, Transphobia, Abandonment, Deadnaming, Domestic abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Eating disorder, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Hate crime, Violence, Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Gore, Death, Misogyny, and Gun violence
lim's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Genocide, Religious bigotry, Vomit, and Transphobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Deadnaming, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, and Child death
Minor: Suicide attempt and Sexual assault
justmys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Gore, Body horror, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Torture, Child abuse, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Child death, Blood, and Abandonment
foiblesandfiction'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
4.0
I loved it. I also didn't necessarily like it. And maybe those are two different things, just like we are able to love people without liking them, which makes sense for me because my mind tends to personify all books. Books have feelings, too.
This story sank it's teeth right into my religious trauma, and the resonating ache from that is why I love this story so. The character names, the Bible verses, the rules and judgements and negative self-talk. I felt, I feel, all of that. It's all very twisty and knotted up in my chest so I won't be able to say very much more than that, to be honest. Too raw, too messy.
Forget about the body horror, my issue was the Christians lol
Sorry Christians! Kind of.
Why I disconnected from this story was due to the writing itself. It's gorgeous and it's also a lot. It doesn't read like the first-person point of view of a sixteen year old kid. Unfortunately, this kept taking me out of the story.
Recommended for fans of Ava Reid. If, like me, you found yourself highlighting entire paragraphs of The Wolf and the Woodsman, or disturbingly delighted at the cannibalistic horror of Juniper & Thorn, you'll find something to enjoy in this young adult horror novel as well.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Deadnaming, Gaslighting, Gore, Hate crime, Outing, Gun violence, Homophobia, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Biphobia, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Racism, Child abuse, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Misogyny
valpal77'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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Torture, Outing, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Excrement, Violence, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Blood, Child abuse, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Death of parent, War, Vomit, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Emotional abuse
planetesastraea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body horror, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Transphobia, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Deadnaming, Gore, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, and Death of parent
fuguefire'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? No
5.0
The second part of this theme is displayed by Nick, leader of the ALC, and once a member of the Angels. throughout the book, we see Nick's mistrust of Benji, and with good reason. There was a really good moment where benji confronts Nick about using the pronoun "it" in stead of "he" and I think it was a really good example of how trans (and minority) characters cannot be written like they exist in a vacuum, and also the ways that people even inside the queer community can still level violence at one another. Of course, at the end of this intense scene, half of benji's face falls off, and suddenly the audience is reminded that this whole conflict over pronouns might not be happening if not for christian extremism in the first place. Perhaps there is a world where Benji and Nick would happily be friends, celebrating their queerness in a loving community. But that world is not theirs anymore.
Finally, I think that Nick's fate in this story is worth noting. Nick, leader of the ALC, whom nobody expected had any ties to the Angels, still gets partially transformed by the latent virus that he was inoculated with as a kid. This is a perfect metaphor for the life-long consequences of being exposed to religious abuse. Even years after you've escaped their influence, and after spending your whole life dedicated to righting their wrongs, a trace of it is always there with you, waiting to bare its teeth.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Murder, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Homophobia, Deadnaming, Hate crime, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Genocide, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Gore, Religious bigotry, Vomit, Death, Body horror, Blood, and Body shaming
Moderate: Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Mental illness, Outing, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Medical content, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, War, and Misogyny
mothman19'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: Torture, Transphobia, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Sexism, Self harm, Terminal illness, Body horror, Bullying, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Genocide, Medical content, Abandonment, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Cannibalism, Death, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, War, Vomit, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Abortion, and Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder, Pregnancy, and Excrement
skrulls'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Body horror, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Vomit, Dysphoria, Death of parent, and Blood
oliverreeds'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: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mass/school shootings, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, War, Blood, Confinement, Deadnaming, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Murder, Self harm, and Transphobia