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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
craftyanty's review
- 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
4.5
I've read this author's work before, but this one felt different to me. It often felt like a cross between Fredrik Bachman's Beartown and Sean Dietrich's Kinfolk.
Moderate: Physical abuse, Infidelity, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Incest, Child abuse, Violence, Murder, Emotional abuse, and Animal death
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
greatestheights's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Alcoholism, Death, Racial slurs, Violence, Incest, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Racism, and Child abuse
Moderate: War and Suicide attempt
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
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
shawnna_reads2'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
3.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Child abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
gcrespo97's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Xenophobia, War, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Sexual assault
astoriareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
- It is Memorial Day 1958 in Black Earth County in Jewel, Minnesota. Jimmy Quinn, a wealthy landowner, is found dead in the Alabaster River with a shotgun wound.
- Sheriff Brody Dern is investigating. Before an autopsy is done, the town’s residents are already assuming the Quinn was killed by Noah Bluestone, a local Dakota Sioux Indian. Noah is also married to Kyoko, a Ngasaki native.
- This is my first novel by Krueger, and I hope to read more by him. He’s very talented.
- There are a lot of characters, and I did find it hard to keep them all straight in the first half of the book.
- Many tough topics are discussed in this book. I would recommend checking out trigger warnings.
- Krueger shows the strong prejudice and racism against Noah & Kyoko, as well as the hatred among the community from WWII against Asians.
- This is a slow burn with complex characters & dysfunctional families. Historical fiction. Starts maybe a little slowly, but picks up about a third of the way.
- Also, I loved the addition of Hector and Fuji 🐶🐶
Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Incest, Death, Racial slurs, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, War, and Cursing
Minor: Cancer, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Infertility, Vomit, and Terminal illness