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pastelkerstin's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Excrement
kitkat_kate's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Keep going.
The last quarter of the book beautifully ties all the stories together, connecting the Before Times and After Times, and giving the reader cause to hope for the future of this world.
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Mental illness and Medical content
silver_valkyrie_reads'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
4.0
There are some interesting observations about life, and whole lot of random everyday life (pre-, mid-, and post-apocalypse), and a few very bad life decisions. Overall I found the characters likeable, but rarely admirable or especially interesting. There was some suspense around how different storylines fit together, and the resolution was quietly satisfying (though not surprising by the time got there).
My only explanation for liking this book is that the writing must have been amazing (rather unobtrusively amazing, but that's how I prefer writing styles) to keep me so engaged, so I will probably try more books by the author.
Moderate: Death and Infidelity
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence
namizaela's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I don't usually read post-apocalyptic fiction, and I didn't really know much before reading this book, so I was unpleasantly surprised to discover that the whole premise of this book was exploring society after a devastating pandemic. Nevertheless, I read on, and honestly this book was not what I expected. The moments of tension were interrupted with chapters of character study, which I found a little strange. The plot seemed to go nowhere, and the climax of the book fell a little flat.
But I don't think the point of the book was to deliver a gripping plot. To me, the point seemed to be to explore what humanity really is. It's interesting to see how the individual character studies of the pre-pandemic world compare to the more sweeping generalizations about the post-apocalyptic human society. Both are done really well–in both cases, I got the sense that humans have the capacity for terrible evil as well as kindness.
Even though this book wasn't what I was expecting at all, I loved it. The language is beautiful, and I especially loved the character of Miranda, who I think is written the best out of all of them. This was a wonderful, interesting story.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Violence, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, and Medical content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness
glitzersmilla's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide and Violence
Minor: Mental illness