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squids_can_read's review
Kenna's grandfather is dead. Died of a heart attack or so the corner says. Suddenly information comes to light that her grandfather's death might not have been an accident like everyone says it is. Now Kenna has to fight for her place among the ruthless Praetorians along with finding out what actually happened to her grandfather.
Doesn't that sound great? It would have been if the author had developed the world at all. This is a mix of science fiction and fantasy but neither of these aspects are explained at all. There is random technology that simply exists with no information of how long it's existed or if people are still trying to create new technology. Similar to the fantasy element. Gods are referenced but are not described whatsoever in their effect on the world except for giving some people powers. And these powers aren't explained either. It seems like people with powers are much stronger than everyone else but they get beat up by people without powers. It also doesn't explain all of what they can do. Do they have one power depending on the god or do they have all of them? I was just really confused.
I also didn't like how focused the world was on racism and bigotry. This was a big part of the point of the book and I didn't have a problem with using those ideas to make a commentary on our world. I had an issue with how much was shoved in the reader's face that absolutely everyone where Kenna lives is a terrible person except for her friends, one of whom is from there. It just didn't make a lot of sense to me, especially in terms of the timeline of when these ideas started and where they came from.
As for the characters, I thought that they were okay. All of the characters seemed kind of two-dimensional to me. It didn't feel like they were very complicated, including the main character. But the characters were not why I DNFed this book.
PSA- Despite the fact that this book cover looks YA, this is definitely a book for adults. There is heavy graphic violence that took me a little by surprise. I did get used to it but it was a lot in the beginning, just so you know.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Cannibalism, Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Addiction, Death, Genocide, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Torture, War, and Violence
emerentina's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Bullying, Murder, Torture, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexism, Body horror, Blood, Miscarriage, Death, Violence, Racial slurs, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
msrae89's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Pros: -The book is pretty well written; it is a little repetitive at times but it makes sense within the narrative.
-The themes the book is exploring are really interesting and done in an unobtrusive way. What I mean by that is I never felt as if the book was preaching to me.
-The themes themselves were really interesting and interconnected with one another seamlessly. Racism, colonialism, military and military propaganda, sexism, classism, trauma, all work together to tell a very interesting story.
-The ending was engaging and set up the second book nicely.
However, that’s about where my enjoyment of the book ended.
Cons: The MC, Ikenna, is 19 and very traumatized, and while it makes sense for the narrative, I found it very repetitive and annoying. This might be, in part, bc I’m in my 30’s and I have an harder time relating to younger MCs. Though, really, I didn’t find any of the characters interesting or engaging. I couldn’t even “love to hate” any of them.
-The book is oddly and aggressively compulsory heterosexual and cisgender. As far as I can tell queer people just don’t exist in the book’s universe, and as a queer person I prefer to read books with queer representation. Even just a passing statement that queer people exist would be more than this book has. Maybe they are in book 2 but after starting it I doubt it based on the little I’ve read so far.
-The “romance” is just bad. First off, it’s unethical. Reed is Ikenna’s superior officer, which he acknowledges. Reed was also the mentee of Ikenna’s deceased grandfather which creates a weird situation for them. It feels a little freudian. Also, Reed is boring! And all of this awkward tension leads to a sudden sex scene. I’m not here to yuck anyone’s yum, but this just wasn’t for me and I skipped it.
Overall it was a good idea with flat characters and dense story.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Toxic friendship, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Classism, Violence, War, Blood, and Colonisation
maresuju'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
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Sexual content, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Deadnaming, Physical abuse, War, and Sexism
Minor: Colonisation, Genocide, Death of parent, Cannibalism, and Torture
sahramahtab's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Cannibalism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, and Xenophobia
risaleel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Racial slurs, Violence, Death of parent, and War
Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Gore, Gun violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexism, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, and Physical abuse
erincrichter'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Medical trauma, Blood, Bullying, War, Medical content, Gun violence, Gore, Body horror, Death, Grief, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, and Violence
tinyjude's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Even though some of the plots were predictable and there were inconsistencies with certain characters' behaviours (probably trying to rush a growth path), it was still an addicting read that tackles subtly interesting themes such as militarism propaganda, institutional racism, institutional sexism, duty vs rightness... with a compelling world-building (i especially loved the forest trial and getting to know these abominable creatures). I am eager to see where the story takes us next and if my theories about the next book are as correct the ones i made in this one.
Graphic: Sexual content, Sexism, Death of parent, Violence, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Grief, War, Racism, Animal death, Gaslighting, and Torture
Moderate: Gore, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Colonisation and Slavery
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Racism, Animal death, Cursing, Child death, Death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Gun violence, Violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, War, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, and Xenophobia
abiofpellinor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Racism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Sexism, War, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Death, Classism, Police brutality, Torture, and Self harm