Reviews

The Whalebone Theatre by Joanna Quinn

Only show reviews with written explanations

thanhl's review against another edition

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slow-paced

3.5

sparrow123's review

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emotional mysterious slow-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

3.75

Content Warnings

It’s easy to see why this book is on so many top reads list. Reminiscent of “All the Light We Cannot See” and “The Great Circle,” the novel is a coming of age story for three siblings before and during World War II. While I don’t read a ton of WWII historical fiction, this one is fantastic. Strong focus on discovering identity, love between siblings, community and belonging, and acting both on and off the stage.

CWs (no spoilers): death, mild physical violence. To avoid spoilers, I will say only that descriptions of war and the Holocaust are alluded to but not graphically described on page.

rspinniken's review

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adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

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

3.75

zak_e's review

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adventurous emotional lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

bxttxrswxxt's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

mareliweb1's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Very well written book. I’m not the biggest fan of historical fiction but this was an enjoyable read. The beginning was quite slow and then picked up a little toward the end but was still slow overall. Focused more on the characters than the war which I enjoyed.