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rjstellar's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
...but.
the second half went off the rails in a few ways.
(tl;dr in case you don't want spoilers: the plot went off the rails, the romance wasnt what I expected and a little iffy, and I think the ending could've been executed a lot better. I still really enjoyed it, of course, and I don't want to downplay that, but the book really seemed to lose itself when it mattered most.)
thing number two, I have no idea what happened to the plot. like, yeah, it's reasonable to think hetty was scattered and forgot to lock the gate and a whole ass bear got in, but I don't understand why that happened?? among other things. I'll get there in a second. I get being careless, but the bear fiasco didn't really serve the plot at all, especially since the jets were coming anyways and the headmistress would've gassed the girls all the same. I would say it was a cheap way to kill someone for the plot to move forward, but not even that, because Lindsay's death was quick and ultimately meaningless. that's not the only strange plot detour. my biggest gripe is the fact that Reese and Hetty's mission to find byatt was cut massively short and the majority of the book is spent on anything but them trying to find her. from the buildup to realizing she's gone and planning their search, to the endless distractions like a bear, or a deadly gas, or a somewhat plausible (but pretty forced) fight over Reese's father. they do find her, but it's in the last 10 or so pages. 10!! the blurb revealed that byatt would go missing, and yet it felt like so little time was dedicated to actually finding her.
thing number three. yeah. the ending. that seems to pretty unanimously be the most disappointing part of this book. it was very, very abrupt. and I'm not closed off to that by any means, but it didn't feel purposefully abrupt. it felt abrupt because it was rushed, not because that was a deliberate choice. I feel like there could've been a good 50 more pages. not just at the end; whether that was in byatt's pov for longer (what happened to that crazy strength and almost uncontrollable urge to hurt dr. paretta?), or with hetty and Reese in the final stretch to find her and get the hell out (again. . .last 10 pages. .), or some other bad situation besides a bear randomly breaking onto school grounds. there could have been so, so much more to this book. there was, and is, so much potential in Rory power's story and writing, but I feel like she tried to do wayyy too much with this novel <spolier>
Graphic: Gore, Vomit, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Medical content, Blood, Violence, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Animal death
lindseygetsliterary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Gore, Blood, Medical trauma, Death, Vomit, Murder, and Medical content
Moderate: Confinement, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
its_nix's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abandonment
its_j'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Murder, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Violence, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gore, Death of parent, and Cursing
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Self harm
andromeda_1998's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Characters
Hetty; Im not sure about my opinion about her. She is a bit typical main character but I didn’t really mind reading about her. She is a teenager, makes mistakes that a girl her age would make and she can do things without thinking them through.
Byatt; she seems nice, she’s a good friend and an interesting character to read about. I’m not sure if I like the writingstyle that Rory Power decided to use for her but I’m okay with it.
Reece: Well she is the typical bitchy character with trauma. Who reacts a curtain way to protect herself.
Writing
Rory Power uses two different writingstyles throughout the book and where I liked one, I disliked the other, but from the beginning it was a clear choice. She made that choice for a reason and I do respect that.
Worldbuilding
For me the idea of the setting was good, but I’m not sure if she explains her world enough.
Plot
We start the story a full year after the tox has invaded the island. The tox changes everything it touches. Wildlife became more aggressive and dangerous, and plants that where normal are becoming toxic and even the girls on the island change in ways they don’t understand. Nobody knows why. On island is an only girl school where survivors of the tox still live. Hetty, Reece and Byatt are three of those survivors. When one of Hetty’s friends goes missing she has to find out what happened or face the consequences.
The story has queer elements, is high stakes and the book has its ways to keep you invested in it from the start. It’s fast paced, the ending blows you away and sadly leaves you with questions unanswered.
Why a duology instead of a stand-alone?
The worldbuilding, I felt that there was more to explain about the island and the tox. But while the explanation my be there, it’s done rushed and I believe the story suffers for it. I think it would have been better as a duology. The first book would be the beginning of the tox, we would see the island crumble under a new disease. We could have seen the first months, since it’s clearly important to know about it but Power doesn’t seem to find time to go in depth. The second book would be this one, but with more room for the explanation behind the tox and maybe even a third pov from one of the still remaining grownups on the island. Power would have time to answer most questions and she would still have been able to end the story the she did.
Recommendations: I do like this book, and I think that readers who enjoyed this one would love gone by Micheal Grant.
Graphic: Abandonment, Self harm, Body horror, Grief, Suicide, Violence, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Animal cruelty, Blood, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, and Torture
nutmegandpumpkin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
•
Some quick notes:
- lgbtq+ characters (including the MC)
- weirdly the author uses the word “sliver” so much in the descriptions of the book that it’s almost comical
- some of the characters lack depth. for instance Byatt really just feels like a plot device and feels like she’s only there for other characters rather than being a fully developed character herself (which is weird because she gets a pov). she does get backstory and a personality but something about it feels surface level
- it dragged in some places
- I really wanted it to explore more of the tox and what was happening. it felt like we only got a little taste of explanation and then nothing more
- really cool concept
- very dark and creepy :)
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Medical content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Vomit, Animal cruelty, and Cannibalism
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Gore, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal death, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Confinement, Self harm, Murder, Vomit, and Grief
moonprincess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror and Gore
Moderate: Confinement, Grief, Child death, Death, and Violence
r__a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, and Grief
Moderate: Bullying, Torture, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, and Murder
naomidanae's review against another edition
- 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? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Confinement, Medical content, Chronic illness, Gore, and Blood