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alikat42's review
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
robin_jong's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
trm's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
alisha94's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
sanctuary's review
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Physical abuse, Grief, War, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment and Adult/minor relationship
jolou's review
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
minou_noir's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- 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
2.75
Okay, so first and foremost, DO NOT TRUST MY WORDS ON THIS; I AM PRETTY SURE I'M WRONG.
Now that that's out of the way. This was barely a 3-star for me, but I don't want to rate it lower because, for what it is, I think it's good(?) I mean, this is basically nine authors working together to create a set of characters that are all related somehow and have their individual lives yet make up a cohesive plot. And somewhere along the way, I did start to care for the characters a lot, especially the little girl that just wanted a new dress and the woman in the 1st story (I'm bad with names, forgive me...😖)And it's not written badly.
However, despite all that, the book didn't play with my heartstrings as I expected it to. I wanted to get emotional because the topics in the stories range from child marriages to abuse to death. And yet... something felt like it was missing. Or maybe I was so shocked by everything that I forgot to feel the emotions. (Finding excuses because saying that it was badly written makes me feel like a bad person...☹)
Also, it was challenging to keep track of the characters. I always confused them or forgot parts of their story. In my opinion, that was partly because I wasn't used to their names as this was an audiobook, and reading the text yourself makes you pay attention more, and partly because I felt like the connections between the characters weren't as easily explained as they could have been. I've read other books with multiple main characters, and it's not always hard to keep track of them. But I'm not too mad about it because I think if I read it instead of listening to an audiobook, I would have struggled less with this.
Now that that's out of the way. This was barely a 3-star for me, but I don't want to rate it lower because, for what it is, I think it's good(?) I mean, this is basically nine authors working together to create a set of characters that are all related somehow and have their individual lives yet make up a cohesive plot. And somewhere along the way, I did start to care for the characters a lot, especially the little girl that just wanted a new dress and the woman in the 1st story (I'm bad with names, forgive me...😖)And it's not written badly.
However, despite all that, the book didn't play with my heartstrings as I expected it to. I wanted to get emotional because the topics in the stories range from child marriages to abuse to death. And yet... something felt like it was missing. Or maybe I was so shocked by everything that I forgot to feel the emotions. (Finding excuses because saying that it was badly written makes me feel like a bad person...☹)
Also, it was challenging to keep track of the characters. I always confused them or forgot parts of their story. In my opinion, that was partly because I wasn't used to their names as this was an audiobook, and reading the text yourself makes you pay attention more, and partly because I felt like the connections between the characters weren't as easily explained as they could have been. I've read other books with multiple main characters, and it's not always hard to keep track of them. But I'm not too mad about it because I think if I read it instead of listening to an audiobook, I would have struggled less with this.