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annemaries_shelves'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Strangers is a really powerful and emotional companion novel to The Break, following four women and their POVs of the The Stranger family: two sisters and their mother in modern day, and their Grandmother through her life.
The Storykeepers podcast covers the themes and discussion much better than I (and I highly recommend checking out that episode specifically and the podcast generally. But Vermette spends a lot of time developing and exploring themes of memory and family history (particularly on how traditions can be lost through time, trauma, and grief), addiction and the impact it has on the substance user and their loved ones, and insidious, ongoing effects of colonialism and racism on Indigenous communities - specifically Métis women. Men are acknowledged to have their own struggles but are really not the focus nor given much grace due to their role in perpetuating intersectional gender-based violence.
I adored the characters and felt so strongly for their situations. I was rooting for each and every one of them, even when they let themselves down or others disappointed them. Margaret in particular reminded me of a lot of women of that era, including my own family members. Constrained by societal roles and expectations, poverty, and choices partially outside of their control, and embittered by those experiences. Elsie, to me, would have been someone much stronger if she'd grown up in a different situation - and I felt my heart breaking every time she relapsed, even though I was also frequently frustrated by her decisions and behaviour. Phoenix broke my heart from the first pages. Having been introduced to her in The Break, I knew what she was capable of, but she was failed by people from the start and was never given the chance to heal (except by Ben, who tried his hardest to share teachings/medicine with her). I think her story's resolution was the hardest to bear because she couldn't let go of the anger that had festered in her from her trauma. Cedar Sage, I think, represented the hope of the future. Given a name (and names mean a lot in this story) was that indicative of her heritage, and eventually reunited with her father (and her Native-obsessed white stepmother) in her teen years, she demonstrates the possibility of healing from intergenerational trauma and poverty, and breaking the cycle. And that last scene where she meets a character from The Break was *so* well done.
You don't have to have read The Break necessarily, but I highly recommend it because it gives a lot of context to this story and some of the characters' histories. Plus it's just damn good.
Overall, a fantastic, unflinching, and beautifully written novel.
CW: references to rape and sexual assault and molestation, substance use and addiction, abortion, pregnancy complications and traumatic births, prison system, violence, intergenerational trauma and grief, foster system, depression and PTSD, racism and colonialism.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, and Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault
emmasbookishself'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
There is an abundance of loss, inter generational trauma and pain but if you look closely this book is so full of love, hope and resilience.
These characters make you feel right along with them, and you hope for them as they navigate their pains.
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, and Alcohol
allthereads_neverthetime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
safsaf118'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault
soobooksalot'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
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
jacq_s'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
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence, and Abortion
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Sexual assault
erinnz'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Racism, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
ferrgus19'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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Grief, and Pregnancy
jen_again'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Death of parent
francestea's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Cursing, Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Minor: Death and Death of parent