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rainbow_narwhal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Homophobia, and Murder
any_bethany's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Body shaming, Violence, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Murder, Trafficking, and Fatphobia
rose_1191's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Confinement, Vomit, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Miscarriage, and Gun violence
anna_hepworth's review against another edition
2.0
Plot was strong, world-building was a bit shaky and kept throwing me out of the story; characters mostly didn't read like people (and the way that ephemeral characters seemed to be almost caricatures based on physical characteristics was disconcerting); writing is strong but wasn't enough to support the issues with world-building and characterisation.
Two examples of my issues with the characterisation:
- we learn that one character is African-American because we get to read a personals ad that they have put in a 'looking for love' column; there was nothing else that I noticed that gave me any sense of 'race' other than 'white' (split into 'Australian' and 'American') for any of the other characters.
This is one of the characters that dies onscreen, in what seemed a completely irrelevant scene - One older woman is introduced and characterised as fat and slovenly, mostly so that a later character can be compared to her, and some unkind comparisons drawn.
I found the quality of the writing off putting, given that the book had a literary prize sticker on the front; I would have been less judgemental about it had I realised that it was a prize for an unpublished manuscript, and thus would have been holding it to a different standard. I would still have had the same response, but I wouldn't have had the 'how the hell did this get a literary award' response.
The plot was very convoluted. I realise that real life is messy, but this was too convoluted for my preferences, particularly when
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Kidnapping, Racism, and Hate crime
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
I'm pretty sure I've missed some content warnings. A significant plot line has to do with a fundamentalist Christian church and their teachings, as well asmadlain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Torture, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness
chethaki'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
Moderate: Homophobia
aaliyah_zaph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Minor: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Homophobia