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midnightstory'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
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
anabelchen'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Deportation
natalialg236'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
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Rape, Torture, Blood, Antisemitism, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
florentina_kellyann'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, War, and Deportation
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Rape
kvvai'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
3.5
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Genocide, Rape, Abandonment, and Deportation
isabelboswinkel'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
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Genocide, Miscarriage, Rape, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Deportation
dkamada's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
Minor: Animal death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Excrement, and Fire/Fire injury
soygenesisojeda's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Rape, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Violence
katewhite77'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? It's complicated
5.0
The content is hard to read, but the quality of the writing and the gripping plot made it very hard to put down.
We follow two sisters as they find very different ways to navigate their way through the Nazi occupation of France in World War 2. Vienne is a proud mother, wife, and rule follower living in the Loire Valley. She refuses to believe that there will be a war at all right up until her husband Pierre is called up. Isobelle, meanwhile, is eighteen and has just been chucked out of the latest in a long line of boarding schools and is rebellious to her core. Just as she arrives back in Paris, she is ordered by her troubled and overbearing father straight back out again to join her sister. We also follow a 1990s timeline of an older woman remembering but wishing she didn’t have to.
Like I say, this is not an easy read as it does not shy away from the horrors of war waged far from the front line where women and children endured a different kind of hell. The book captures so well how a child's innocence can be so utterly shattered in a war.
Sadly, this novel is all relevant in 2024. When will the human race learn?
This is easily my book of the year so far, and Kristin Hannah is a new author to me, which is very exciting, and I can't wait to read more. I also recommend this for fans of The Eighth Life by Nino Haratchiwili.
Graphic: Rape, Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, War, and Deportation
Moderate: Child death, Genocide, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cancer
cmason101'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation