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Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Graphic: Ableism, Sexual content, Violence, Cannibalism
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, Torture, Blood, Murder
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts
It's a classic hero's journey type of story and it's being told in such a different way that it surprised me. The POV switches really keep you focused on the story and actually thinking about it at the beginning in a way that's kind of impossible to describe.
I loved the prose and the almost lyrical way this story is told as if reciting it from memory out loud like a folk tale.
I also loved the main characters. I was rooting for them from the very beginning, especially Keema who always seemed to be the butt of the joke and got shit on for his missing arm. He deserved nice things. And June was just trying to make up for his past, for following the orders he was given without thinking about them. I have to admire his determination throughout the novel.
I will say that it took me a while to get used to the POV switching and I think that hindered my ability to grasp the world building and the story set up a bit, especially since I was listening to it rather than reading it physically. I knew that it was going to be a challenge in this format going into the book, so I just want to make sure others are aware of that as well.
On the surface, this is a hero's journey with a love story, but if you dig deeper this novel is about rising up against tyrannical government and healing what has been broken. It is beautifully written, even with the slightly confusing POV switches, and I would definitely recommend it to anyone who reads fantasy books.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Sexism, Alcohol
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Grief, Alcohol
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content, Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism
It was also bloody and violent, and more of an epic. Like any true epic, there were threads that made up the tapestry, and many of the threads ended abruptly. Most notably, the tortoise and Captain Oria.
I also completely misread the "old country" they mentioned, thinking for the first quarter that it meant somewhere in Latin America. Even now, I'm not quite sure.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Cannibalism, Murder
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Abandonment
The main two characters are exactly the messy and fun relationship needed to anchor such a surreal tale. The framing device of a modern-day emigrant watching the story as a play was atmospheric and provided some cool a-ha moments but might have felt more vital to someone with more similarities in their family history. I was always eager to return to our two heroes of myth.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, War
Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Classism
Graphic: Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail