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purplatypus'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
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Domestic abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Blood, Pregnancy, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Trafficking, Acephobia/Arophobia, Cursing, and Infertility
cadence99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
To begin with, there is an undercurrent of ableism throughout in the portrayal of the main characters child being born a “mind eater”, and being portrayed primarily as a “burden” throughout the book.
Beyond this, the writing style frustrated me in many ways. It felt as if the author did not trust her audience to interpret even the slightest drop of material, as troupes were painstakingly spelled out, removing any chance for readers to explore this world themselves. The book is very guilty of telling readers what is happening instead of showing us.
In addition, many characters relationships and growth felt VERY unbelievable to me. Characters met and within days (with minimal interaction) were supposed to have developed deep feelings for one another. Other characters are portrayed as incredibly young children one moment, and the next are being expected to make life altering choices.
Overall, I would not recommend this book
1.25⭐️
Graphic: Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Violence, Pregnancy, Rape, and Gore
Moderate: Ableism
Minor: Medical trauma, Infertility, and Fire/Fire injury
ofbooksandechos'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Gore, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Trafficking
trickphoenix's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Cannibalism, Murder, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Misogyny, Sexism, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Abandonment, and Addiction
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Child death, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Trafficking
upperjackpain'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
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Drug use, Violence, Sexual violence, and Gun violence
Moderate: Sexism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Confinement, Rape, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Murder, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror
Minor: Torture
keen'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
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Misogyny
Minor: Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Gun violence
xangemthelibrarian'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? It's complicated
5.0
That spoiler up above is my favorite quote from the book, but it does reveal a plot point, so don't read it if you want to keep the surprise!
I love Devon. She's not painted as a hero by any means. She's just a mom, doing literally whatever it takes and sacrificing her whole being to care for her son in a world that is dead set against her succeeding. A world that very obviously favors men and sets women up to be no more than child-bearing cattle. (I haven't read The Handmaid's Tale, but I wonder if these two books would pair well together.) ALSO the Book Eater lore! Very interesting! And the constant parallels between their world and the old-fashioned fairytales. It's both very distressing and so good.
I also love the message: Love is simply a choice you make. The idea of "cost" or "worth" doesn't apply. You choose to love like you choose to live every day. And the "huge" choices Devon makes all throughout the story just seem so natural for her as a character because she talks so frequently about the "little" choices she made to support Cai.
One final thing that puts this book at the top for me: Neurodiverse author who loves "rolling d20s!" I'm honestly a fan of anyone who enjoys the click-clack math rocks. Definitely following on Twitter because the ending here has one loose end that can either stay unresolved or maybe spin into another book?? Hopefully?? 👀
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Alcohol, Gun violence, and Fire/Fire injury
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, Addiction, Blood, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Body shaming, Rape, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Infertility, Abandonment, Body horror, Vomit, Cursing, Drug use, and Gun violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Slavery, and Trafficking
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- THE BOOK EATERS is part adventure tale, part gothic mystery, part horror story and I loved it.
- I loved that it not only gave us the gothic manor tropes but also the claustrophobia of being a woman born into an impossibly patriarchal system. Watching Devon try to navigate her love for her children with her need to break free and be her own person was heart wrenching.
- It's not super obvious from the summary, but this book is also queer! There's some nice sapphic longing from Devon, as well as an asexual secondary character.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Sexism, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia and Trafficking