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sneaky_snake22's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
This is a beautiful tale. It weaves together the past, present, magic and reality in a way that draws the reader in further and further. You learn and grow with the characters and understand how a past that seems so far removed from ourselves is connected and ingrained. It's a story that inspires you to connect and remember those that are struggling today. The main takeaway is that storytelling ensures those that are physically lost to us are never forgotten, that no matter the atrocities that occur, by remembering and telling the stories of those that lived, we can beat the hatred and darkness. And that by remembering the past, we can heal ourselves.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Death, Self harm, Child death, Genocide, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit and War
Minor: Death of parent
ehrycyna's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
mysterious
reflective
tense
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child death, Murder, Hate crime, Genocide, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, War, and Torture
uniquelymace's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Grief, Genocide, Police brutality, and War
darla78's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, War, and Violence
kmesserl's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
What an incredibly beautiful and deeply moving read. Honestly this will probably be my favorite book of the year. It’s been so long since I could nerd out not just on a sensational plot and realistic characters, but the prose itself. The writing it so juicy. The kind of writing that makes me want to be a better writer. My book is filled with underlined passages and earmarked pages because there were so many beautiful lines I didn’t want to forget.
I loved this book. Can’t recommend it enough.
I loved this book. Can’t recommend it enough.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Death, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction
therainbowshelf's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
A friend recommended this delight of a book to me and I loved it. It explores myths and legends, cultural destruction, Russian Jewish heritage, and the role that stories play in both culture and heritage, all wrapped up in a fantasy-horror book with a fun cast of characters. I saw one reviewer characterized it as culturally apropriative to have non-religious characters with Jewish heritage as the main characters, but I enjoyed having characters like this because that’s my experience as well. I am not religious, but have Jewish heritage.
As an odd coincidence, the same day I started reading this book, a journalist I was working with told me about his family heritage. One side of his family came to the U.S. to escape the pogroms in the early 1900s. It was the first time I’d heard of the pogroms in Russia, and then this book centers them.
As an odd coincidence, the same day I started reading this book, a journalist I was working with told me about his family heritage. One side of his family came to the U.S. to escape the pogroms in the early 1900s. It was the first time I’d heard of the pogroms in Russia, and then this book centers them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Hate crime, Murder, War, Death, Terminal illness, Genocide, Gore, Racism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Death of baby, death of family member, graphic Reanimation of dead animalcameronreads's review against another edition
5.0
This book somehow surpassed every expectation I had of it. It was simply wonderful; from the characters to the storytelling to the powerful and important messages it contained. I’d recommend this to anyone and everyone.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Antisemitism, Death, Self harm, Gore, Grief, Child death, Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Suicide and War
fee_nix05's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
The proze is so good! I also learned a lot about russian-jewish history, without it ever feeling like reading a textbook. The main characters felt so real, and the latter portion made me cry because of how beautifully it was written. The only thing keeping me from rating this a 5-star read is that it felt a little long sometimes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, War, and Antisemitism
ahntologies's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Really beautiful dark rich modern folklore. Looking forward to more from Nethercott. There are so many incredible quotes on trauma, grief, memory. The multitude of storytelling style in this book was able to show me that folklore is humanity's way to heal and survive, no matter the culture. In that, both power is evoked and magic happens.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Antisemitism, Genocide, Self harm, War, Child death, and Suicide
noelpaige's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
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
5.0
I cannot say enough good things about this book. I never thought I would be sobbing about a brother and sister and a house with chicken legs but here we are. Absolutely incredible, beautifully written, the perfect amount of fun and folklore and whimsy mixed with real historical references and dark + challenging topics. I would also die for every one of these characters. I’ll be thinking about this book and the ending for the rest of my life probably.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Genocide, Child death, and War
Minor: Xenophobia