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cateyackerman's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Grief, Murder, and War
Moderate: Cancer and Miscarriage
flowchelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Genocide, Gore, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
marine2907'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
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
bearpolar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Torture and Deportation
Moderate: Genocide, Antisemitism, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Rape, Sexism, and Pregnancy
chloelj27'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
sammietee's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Antisemitism, Mass/school shootings, Murder, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Cancer, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
sarahcolleen12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Antisemitism, Murder, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Cancer and Miscarriage
lizzyspooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Rape, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer
sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, Torture, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Deportation
Minor: Cancer and Vomit
siobhanward's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
So I'm going to separate my thoughts on the book itself from my thoughts on it being a Reese's Book Club pick, because I have a LOT of those, but they're not Hannah's fault. That all to say though, there's a very good chance this will be my last (intentionally read) Reese's Club pick because this was a huge misstep as a pick and there was nothing said about it.
However, this still just wasn't a good book. Yes, it was written 8 years ago, and a lot of things have happened since then, but one of the things is that Hannah has written a lot of better books, so why can't we just leave this one aside?
The good news is, I think I've found the trope that I'm even more tired of than wartime women, which turns out to be white saviours. I know that there were many everyday people who did a whole lot to save Jewish people (and others) during WWII, but I'm just over Jewish characters in wartime books existing only to redeem our protagonist.
Again, acknowledging that this book was written in 2015, which was pre-Trump, I still think that we don't need more kind Nazi plots. Maybe at the time it seemed less like an awful idea, but again, with everything that has happened in the past 8 years, maybe we don't need to focus on books where there is a Nazi character with a kind heart. We just really don't need that right now, sorry.
Anyway, Reese, next time you want to "combat antisemitism" through your book club, maybe pick a book by an actual Jewish author, where there are Jewish characters who exist for a reason other than for a non-Jewish person to save them...
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Antisemitism, and War
Moderate: Cancer and Death of parent