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miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Homophobia, Self harm, Blood, Gun violence, Medical content, and Murder
jen1804's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Add to this the odd writing style flicking between past and present with no help from the formatting, plus the medical jargon, and you find the book being inherently confusing for no good reason.
Satisfactory ending? No.
Graphic: Confinement, Misogyny, Murder, Death, and Sexism
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Minor: Genocide
gemma7's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I was really enjoying the book but the ending was not IT!
Why is everything told and not shown?
Some things were too convenient to be true
Also, Olivia was at Patrick's funeral? Surely she couldn't have survived what happened to her?? Unless it was her one handed ghost.
Still quite impressive for a debut novel.
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Suicide, Medical content, Death, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, and Misogyny
Moderate: Pregnancy and Homophobia
Minor: Abortion, Blood, Self harm, and Sexual content
abbypeters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexism
Moderate: Gore and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Violence, Homophobia, Self harm, and Sexual content
cyrusk12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Violence
sadiaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
4.0
Interesting oremise - reminiscent of the handmaids tale
Loved the short chapters
Was fast paced, read it in a day
Cons
Second half of the book was lacking, not sure I understood the ending
Also I know this is based on jeans story, but I would've liked to have known more about Patrick, his perspective
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty
Minor: Blood
nila's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Torture, Homophobia, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Terminal illness, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Slavery, Sexual content, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Murder
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
harpy_reads'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Gaslighting, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Violence, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Confinement
Moderate: Sexual content
stormwise's review against another edition
2.0
My biggest gripe with this book was the pacing. With 326 pages split into 80 chapters, the narrative felt very choppy - this was occasionally effective when moving between the present and flashbacks, but overall it just made it harder to follow the story, especially as the plot picked up. Speaking of the plot, the ending was an absolute mess. The story fizzled out in a confusing collection of scenes that we are mostly told about rather than shown, in which
I have certain expectations of contemporary social dystopian novels, especially those aimed at adults. One of those expectations is a certain degree of Intersectionality. Dalcher includes gay and lesbian (side) characters and examines what happens to them under the Pure regime, but fails to include trans people - which I would be more forgiving of if she hadn't chosen to have her protagonist use the acronym 'LGBTQIA'. If you're just going to focus on the L and G, why even mention the rest?
I was annoyed further by the fact that Dalcher is clearly aware of the issue of intersectionality - halfway through the book,
I'm not saying that I wanted to see black or trans people (or any other marginalised group) being treated badly in fiction, but it felt disingenuous that a plot device rooted so deeply in Conservative American values was for all intents and purposes merely sexist and homophobic, and not racist and transphobic.
Overall this book felt more like an exploration of the science and philosophy of the concept than an actual novel. The first few chapters of world building were very engaging but once the plot kicked it, it all fell apart.
Graphic: Misogyny, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Torture, and Sexual content
Minor: Animal cruelty
whatellieread's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Abortion
Animal testing,