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helfire124's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Violence, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Homophobia, Animal death, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Racism, Slavery, Domestic abuse, Infertility, and Physical abuse
lucille_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Sexism, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Misogyny, Child abuse, Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Grief, Drug use, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Transphobia
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Cancer, War, and Slavery
tatjanasbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Violence, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Sexism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, and Colonisation
Minor: Homophobia, Deadnaming, and Abandonment
bootrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Racism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Slavery, Child death, Transphobia, Suicide, Miscarriage, Grief, and Misogyny
camoo3032's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There are a lot of characters so the book can feel like a bit of whirlwind, particularly in the first chapter, and some of the topics covered could've been discussed in more depth. Regardless, I still found this book very eye opening
Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Classism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Transphobia, Vomit, Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Slavery, Suicide, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
jayisreading's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexism, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Drug use and Transphobia
Minor: Deadnaming, Death, Slavery, and Miscarriage
errie'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Classism, and Colonisation
moviemagus's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery
garciaga's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Racism, Transphobia, and Infidelity
hannahbailey's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Generally I prefer not to read character-vignette novels written in third-person. But this novel just goes to show that when done well, I can really enjoy them! I loved the distinct voice of each character and how they would be name-dropped in one chapter only to be the main character of the next one. It built such an interesting and creative narrative without leaving me feeling I didn't know enough about them–which is usually the case for me with character-vignettes.
Surprised to see some reviews stating the character dialogue and mix of poetry/prose was hard to believe and unrealistic. I completely disagree! The inner dialogue of the female characters was relatable and familiar. I enjoyed the exploration of womanhood and motherhood and how this intersects with race in Britain. It was an interesting and sobering read.
It was almost 5 stars, but there was a part where the character overcomes drug addiction by sheer willpower–they literally stay at home for a week without any form of support and somehow recovers? This didn't feel realistic to me especially given the vulnerability and young age of the character. That said, this was one of the chapters that really stood out to me in its exploration of body/gender dysphoria and trans joy.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia