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pvid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Animal death, Blood, Classism, Death of parent, Gore, and Murder
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- 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
Naomi Novik's story makes poignant remarks on prevalent real-world topics such as classism and privilege, through the lense of a magical society controlled by a fortunate (and greedy) few. She delivers genuine complex emotion as her characters grapple with their anger, their uncertainty, and at the end of the day, their humanity.
4.5 stars because I'm not sure if the author hired a sensitivity consultant or not; there were a couple small moments I didn't feel great about. Additionally, I wasn't sold on the design of the school in this book. Not the literal design, but more the way it was designed and how it's been handled since.
Graphic: Death, Child death, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Genocide, Racism, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Sexual content
evbyrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Blood, Abandonment, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Cannibalism, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, and Death
passionatereader78's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Classism, Child death, Death, and Vomit
Minor: Pregnancy and Death of parent
rheagoveas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Murder
taroroot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Vomit
Moderate: Blood and Body horror
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Death of parent
teklalind's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I enjoyed this book, but it lacks exposition or a coherent explanation of the world-building. What you learn is fascinating, I find the school's structure interesting. I found myself stumbling around trying to remember all of the names thrown at me, not just the characters but also of the various monsters because there are so many different types thrown in. Usually, an introduction includes a description of it but it's rushed in while the main character is fighting it. Maybe it's intended for the audience to think on their feet as much as the characters have to, but instead, I found myself just flailing and making all the monsters just blobs because I couldn't distinguish them from one another. I wish there had been an index in the back of the book with descriptions of the "mals" (the monsters) so I could keep track, let alone an index with the names of the characters thrown around with their rushed description.
It seemed like Novik was trying to create a diverse cast of characters except she threw them all to the side most of the time because most of the book was about El, the MC, and sometimes Orion Lake. A lot of the cast of characters could have been trimmed to give other important ones more time but Novik really tried to sell how diverse the school was and ended up just creating a massive hole in character development. Maybe that happens in the sequel!
Overall, I did enjoy the book though. I wouldn't compare it to Harry Potter at all but I realize people will always compare a magical school to HP despite the fact that magical schools in fantasy existed before HP and continue to after but I digress. It has a darker sense where Novik tries to pick apart the class differences between students but ignores the racial differences that could've been a major influence but the attempts she did make at critical thinking about race were not well received so maybe it's good she didn't try.
Minor: Animal death, Cannibalism, and Blood
Briefly mentioned the sacrifice of animals. Another brief mention of a human sacrifice and cannibalism for magic. It is not described in detail and is not dwelled upon.beccaand'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: Death, Gore, Child death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death
torturedreadersdept's review
- 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: Bullying, Gore, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Cursing, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Dysphoria, Grief, Pregnancy, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide
jaedia's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Bullying, Classism, and Confinement
Moderate: Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death, Child death, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
Minor: Grief, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Suicidal thoughts