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minervacerridwen's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
I loved the concepts and this is such an important book. I just wish the story had gotten more room to breathe.
psyckers's review
5.0
This is a fantastic story that intertwines beautifully Maori, Queer, coming of age issues; all set in New Zealand during the 1940s wartime events.
The subject matter is fantastically managed and crafted beautifully along with fantasy elements that emphasize the different cultures in the subjects, the interaction of the characters into a beloved story that I believe that similar new books that could easily manifest in the future.
The subject matter is fantastically managed and crafted beautifully along with fantasy elements that emphasize the different cultures in the subjects, the interaction of the characters into a beloved story that I believe that similar new books that could easily manifest in the future.
tonyriver's review
4.0
This is an intriguing book. A beautifully written and wonderfully imaginative story with a serious fantasy element, mostly set in Australia. The book is relatively short and is a quick read. Hold on for a slightly mind bending story line. I enjoy fantasy and thought the fairy tale element mixed with very down to earth war time setting and the tribulations that entails.
evkrieg's review
adventurous
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
anna_hepworth's review
4.0
Fascinating story about New Zealand, WWII land girls, creatures of myth/legend, surviving as queer, and any number of other details. I can't find much to say that isn't full of spoilers, so I'll limit myself to: the characters were fabulous and fascinating; the world-building was complex, nuanced, and carefully limited to as not overwhelm the plot; the writing was good; I think that the plot was good but I did rather get lost as to what was happening at times, which took an otherwise 5 star book down, because I had to keep rereading sections to understand what was happening (mostly 'where are we, how did we get here, and how many people are in this scene?')
morcabre's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
bobohearth's review
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Moderate: War
Minor: Racial slurs
saedith's review against another edition
3.0
I really wanted to like this book a lot more, but the writing was confusing at times and it had a lot of really big themes that were just brushed off after introducing them.
The story itself is beautiful and the themes very interesting, it just didn't come together for me.
The story itself is beautiful and the themes very interesting, it just didn't come together for me.
claudiearseneault's review
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0