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bbbarttt's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, and Death
gondorgirl's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Gaslighting, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
mandkips's review against another edition
dark
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use, Animal death, and Sexual content
benchtuna's review
4.5
it's about hope and it's different kinds and how some kinds will destroy you more than help you. it's about greed and how we know nothing and own nothing and how nothing matters. it's about being alive, being with and being able to have choices. just an interesting, unique view on an apocalypse and what it means to feel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Hate crime, Abandonment, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty
poisonenvy's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
This book isn't quite five-stars, but it's near enough to not really matter.
This is an incredibly short novel, clocking in at about 150 pages, which follows the story of Tetley, from when she was a girl to when she grows to be a woman.
Long after the iceburgs have melted and the level of the sea has risen to the point where no more land exists, people continue living on. Tetley lives on Garbagetown, a floating city of garbage (and, in fact, this floating Texas-sized mound of garbage floating around the ocean actually does exist). Tetley is also the most hated woman of Garbagetown, having done something in the past where everyone in Garbagetown is permitted to instruct her however they want, with her thanks.
More than something with a solid plot, this is a look at Tetley's life, and a view into a version of the world that isn't too hard to imagine coming to fruition at some point in the near future.
It took me a moment to get into this book, but once I did I tore through it. Tetley looks at the world with a Candide-like optimism, and yet I would argue she sees the world more clearly than most of the others who live on Garbagetown. Valente has an excellent way of writing where she'll feed you some information that only leads to more questions, and the will feed you the answers piecemeal, so an image of the whole begins to form, like a paint-by-numbers.
There were several parts that I'd consider POV slips, comparisons and analogies that I don't actually believe Tetley would have made, but this book is emotional and thought-provoking, and I loved it a lot.
This is an incredibly short novel, clocking in at about 150 pages, which follows the story of Tetley, from when she was a girl to when she grows to be a woman.
Long after the iceburgs have melted and the level of the sea has risen to the point where no more land exists, people continue living on. Tetley lives on Garbagetown, a floating city of garbage (and, in fact, this floating Texas-sized mound of garbage floating around the ocean actually does exist). Tetley is also the most hated woman of Garbagetown, having done something in the past where everyone in Garbagetown is permitted to instruct her however they want, with her thanks.
More than something with a solid plot, this is a look at Tetley's life, and a view into a version of the world that isn't too hard to imagine coming to fruition at some point in the near future.
It took me a moment to get into this book, but once I did I tore through it. Tetley looks at the world with a Candide-like optimism, and yet I would argue she sees the world more clearly than most of the others who live on Garbagetown. Valente has an excellent way of writing where she'll feed you some information that only leads to more questions, and the will feed you the answers piecemeal, so an image of the whole begins to form, like a paint-by-numbers.
There were several parts that I'd consider POV slips, comparisons and analogies that I don't actually believe Tetley would have made, but this book is emotional and thought-provoking, and I loved it a lot.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
dreamofbookspines's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
So, so sad, but somehow also not. I'm amazed at the depths of this book. If I read it again, I imagine I'd discover something new.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
bex_knighthunterbooks's review
hopeful
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved this hopeful story of a girl living on the great pacific garbage patch after the climate apocalypse. The writing was very stylised, which helped Tetley's personality come through and felt realistic for a setting generations into the future, where words have different meanings. I was a little confused at times, but ultimately really enjoyed reading this. The story is more slice-of-life than plot-heavy, which I did like, especially as Tetley's outlook is so positive and charming, and yet we still get to see character growth between the two parts. But, there were also a few twists I didn't anticipate which worked wonderfully. The world building was also mesmerising with strikingly beautiful and absurd imagery, which meant the story felt like a mix between sci-fi and magical realism or fairytale, with a dash of humour. It was also really powerful, with many points that made me think - particularly on the themes of hope (the different places it can be found and the dangers it can bring), consumption and ownership. Would recommend!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Cursing, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
misty_muskrat's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
5.0
This might be my favorite book of the year! Don't read if you can't take many, MANY curse words.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Emotional abuse
perditorian's review
adventurous
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse and Torture
Moderate: Animal death and Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use
fdallachy's review
adventurous
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was a pretty solidly middle of the road book for me. It kept me interested, but it's not especially memorable. It has the kind of broad-brush social satire about human wastefulness that makes it more tiresome than incisive, and the endless references to everyone pre-flood as 'Fuckwits' are irritating in a social-media-smug-self-righteous-everyone-but-me-is-an-idiot kind of way. For a few brief moments the author explores the idea that human nature is constant and that those who survive would fall into the same patterns of behaviour as their predecessors (although mostly in the afterword, which is a little late), but there's no real development or nuance to these ideas, so this ends up largely a 'told you so' novella which will mostly be read by people who already agree with its message.
The main character, Tetley, does develop but most of the others around her get very little time and it's very difficult to understand any of them well enough to actually like them. The most convincing relationship is between Tetley and a prototype Alexa-like smart device, which I suppose is perhaps intentional! Overall, although it seems like the author wants Tetley to be a positive, unshakable character who sees the joy in life no matter what happens, this ends up feeling like a cynical misanthropic story in which a misunderstood central character discovers that other humans are, at best, unreliable and, at worst, unforgivably selfish, and that you're better off talking to animals, plants, and half-finished AIs.
The main character, Tetley, does develop but most of the others around her get very little time and it's very difficult to understand any of them well enough to actually like them. The most convincing relationship is between Tetley and a prototype Alexa-like smart device, which I suppose is perhaps intentional! Overall, although it seems like the author wants Tetley to be a positive, unshakable character who sees the joy in life no matter what happens, this ends up feeling like a cynical misanthropic story in which a misunderstood central character discovers that other humans are, at best, unreliable and, at worst, unforgivably selfish, and that you're better off talking to animals, plants, and half-finished AIs.
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault, Violence, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
The main character can legally be abused by others in their community in any way short of murder. Although most of the descriptions are brief and vague, there are many potentially triggering comments throughout.
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