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soffafa's review
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
theres so many things to say about this. author is from the UK, doesnt seem to have a deep connection with being filipina. that being said, the writing within itself is so elementary especially with the clunky tagalog drops. the synopsis was not at all what i assumed, didnt need to continuously read child rape every few chapters. this was just a dump of trauma and torture. the parental relationships would have been nice to been explored more, but melissa wanted to highlight violence against women as if we dont experience it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Rape
Moderate: Drug abuse
vnessc's review against another edition
3.0
Insanely dark and depressing but I loved the writing so much.
mundinova's review against another edition
3.0
All the trigger warnings! This was brutal.
There's one main story that then gets a second story tacked on at the end, which wasn't needed. There's something the author wants to say about indigenous woman disappearing, which is important, but it's at odds with the main story. It doesn't fit. Not with the main character. Marina Salles's story should have been the only story in this book. All the other viewpoints distract from her story, her pain, her family and the mythology tied to her death.
This book reminded me of "A Little Life." Chadburn wanted to put her characters through the absolute worst a human could survive. There were times when it was too much for me to read. But it was very well written.
Story: 3 stars
Character Development: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
There's one main story that then gets a second story tacked on at the end, which wasn't needed. There's something the author wants to say about indigenous woman disappearing, which is important, but it's at odds with the main story. It doesn't fit. Not with the main character. Marina Salles's story should have been the only story in this book. All the other viewpoints distract from her story, her pain, her family and the mythology tied to her death.
This book reminded me of "A Little Life." Chadburn wanted to put her characters through the absolute worst a human could survive. There were times when it was too much for me to read. But it was very well written.
Story: 3 stars
Character Development: 4 stars
Writing: 4 stars
fbzcab's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence, Addiction, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
shawnasty's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
mbailee's review
dark
4.0
This book was not really what I expected. I took it on a recommendation without really knowing much about it. I thought it was going to be much more about the cultural beliefs and the story of her being an aswang and seeking revenge but it was really a much darker & heavy story about the foster care system and her life prior to her murder. I commend the author for taking such a brutal look at this topic but it was a very trigger heavy book and emotionally taxing. It was also very literary like & there were a lot of cultural words or times where there were multiple different words used for the same thing or person and it took me a while to get into the rhythm of understanding but towards the end it didn't distract me as much.
happy_stomach's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Child abuse
giugiufio's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual violence and Drug abuse