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sreddous's review
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
fast-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
4.25
An interesting, immersive story with a lot of interesting, morally-gray characters!
Overall, I was able to get lost in this book easily (in a good way!!), but I think a few things would make Babe a little easier to follow and to really root for. He's taking all these risks to build a better house for his family, but what I think is missing is the sort of desperation that comes from risks like this being worth it -- part of me wanted to yell at Babe, "you're doing okay without all this!!" because throughout the book we get nice scenes where he sits with his healthy children and wife at the dinner table, and his wife goes on picnics with other family members, etc. So I wish that we saw more of their desperation or poverty or something so that it was easier to be like, "wow, these risks are worth it," when Babe starts making risky decisions. It was sometimes a little hard to logically root for him.
But -- weirdly, without going into spoilery detail, I think the ending actually fit the way Babe's decisions all added up together! I actually muttered "well, damn," out loud when the book ended, and it left me thinking for a while later too. It's clear we're being set up for a sequel, and that's fine, but as a standalone, yeah, that's some realistic results! So in that regard, the book felt well-built-up-to and high-stakes.
So yeah! Cool stuff!
Overall, I was able to get lost in this book easily (in a good way!!), but I think a few things would make Babe a little easier to follow and to really root for. He's taking all these risks to build a better house for his family, but what I think is missing is the sort of desperation that comes from risks like this being worth it -- part of me wanted to yell at Babe, "you're doing okay without all this!!" because throughout the book we get nice scenes where he sits with his healthy children and wife at the dinner table, and his wife goes on picnics with other family members, etc. So I wish that we saw more of their desperation or poverty or something so that it was easier to be like, "wow, these risks are worth it," when Babe starts making risky decisions. It was sometimes a little hard to logically root for him.
But -- weirdly, without going into spoilery detail, I think the ending actually fit the way Babe's decisions all added up together! I actually muttered "well, damn," out loud when the book ended, and it left me thinking for a while later too. It's clear we're being set up for a sequel, and that's fine, but as a standalone, yeah, that's some realistic results! So in that regard, the book felt well-built-up-to and high-stakes.
So yeah! Cool stuff!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs and Racism
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