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kirstym25's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy, Blood, and Body horror
Moderate: Body shaming
mariaelinn's review
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, and Pregnancy
tenderbench's review
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Blood
Moderate: Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Grief, and War
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
fast-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
This is a good debut! I agree with other reviewers, the title story, which comes first, is the best of the bunch. That being said, I think they all had interesting moments in them and I liked how they were in concert with one another, sharing themes and imagery. They worked well as a collection together.
I recommend the audiobook format if you are unfamiliar with Hawai'ian sounds and words, it creates a smoother rhythm to the writing when you're not stopping and sounding it out.
Expect rich and vivid descriptions of blood, hair, folklore, relationships, sexuality, ghosts, and food in these feminist stories.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, and Pregnancy
mmccombs's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
3.5
This short story collection was fine! I don’t think this will stay with me, there were some interesting ideas but the writing was pretty bland. I did enjoy the sense of place and learning a bit more about Native Hawaiian culture. Themes about womanhood and desire and extraction and bodies linked the stories. I didn’t really care for the constant fatphobia and wished for it to lean a bit harder into the horror element of some of these stories. Unsure if I would necessarily recommend this one, but do try it if you are interested in Hawaiian stories that are often strange and about how hard it is to exist as a woman.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Body horror, Abandonment, and Blood
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