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aproulx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Racism, Rape, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and War
Minor: Animal cruelty
bearybooky's review
- 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
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Death of parent, Terminal illness, War, Fire/Fire injury, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Violence, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Alcohol, Blood, Chronic illness, Pedophilia, and Rape
louisekf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Murder, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Grief, Death, and Racism
Minor: Alcohol, Chronic illness, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal cruelty
rsbrown19'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
Graphic: Gun violence and Domestic abuse
Minor: Rape
morethanmylupus's review
- 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
“More than anything else, we're made of mistakes. But you know what? We always have a second chance.”
Kreuger has a talent for embodying both the charm and the unfortunate underbelly of small-town life. Set in the 1950s, this book is set in small-town Minnesota like Kreuger's previous books. This book follows suit on previous works, hitting on themes around racism, roles in small-town dynamics, and how actions (big and small) can have long-reaching impacts. If Andy Griffith hadn't shied away from heavier themes of racism, sexual assault including on children, and the long-term impacts that fighting in a war can have on a person ... you'd have a TV version of this book. The ending made me equal parts sad and content, but I don't think any ending to this story would have or could have been happy. None of the characters was 100% easy to love, but that's what I love about Kreuger's books - the characters aren't any more perfect than humans are in real life. Their redemption arcs - or lack thereof - were part of the charm of this book too.
On the subject of racism, I've seen a few reviews that questioned the racism in the book especially given Kreuger isn't a lifelong native. Saying that this type of thing was more likely to have happened in the South. Is that true? Maybe, but maybe not. I grew up Indian-American in suburban Minnesota and we certainly knew that there were a lot of places we should enter carefully or not at all. I was often asked whether I was a "dot Indian" or a "feather Indian / teepee Indian" as a child. So I can assure you that racism was alive and well in Minnesota even in the 1990s, and nothing that happened in this book felt like that much of a stretch to me. We see a lot of overt racism and racial slurs here, but also some more subversive and unconscious racism, which also felt realistic to me because I do believe that a fair amount of racism that I faced growing up in Minnesota was probably unconscious bias (though that didn't make it any nicer to experience).
This is a heavy book, but it's a beautiful book in how it reflects on the way humans behave and interact - and what we will do for the ones we love.
Graphic: Racism, Gun violence, Rape, Murder, Incest, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Misogyny, and Child abuse
emily_y'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: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation
bschweig717'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
2.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Rape, Incest, Sexual violence, and Violence
kimreads14's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Here are a few reasons why:
- Sheriff Brody: I thought he was the least interesting character of them all, and he’s pretty much the leading “voice”. There are a few narrators in the book, but Brody’s voice is the one that comes up the most often.
The books concentrate on the idea that everyone has secrets and that these secrets are likely to come and bite you in the “derrière”. Yet, Brody’s main secret
- The pacing: jeez was this book long… I even have a progress note that says “Things are happening and yet it feels like nothing is happening.” I only thought the pacing improved when Charlie took over part of the narration.
Honestly, the only reason I kept going with this book was Charlie and her chapters. Scott’s were ok but Charlie was the real start in this book.
A few points to explain why I still gave it 2.5 ⭐️:
- Charlie: see above
- The fact that regardless of pacing and my hate for Brody this book still offers a good setting and discussion of American society in the 50s and the state of mind regarding the fall out of the two World Wars.
Graphic: Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Death, Alcoholism, Cursing, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Animal cruelty, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, War, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Violence
emileegarrett'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
4.25
Moderate: Sexual assault, Incest, Rape, Murder, and Gun violence
amandalachelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Murder, Rape, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Incest, Torture, Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, and War