Reviews - The Strangers | The StoryGraph

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485 reviews for:

The Strangers

Katherena Vermette

4.22 AVERAGE

shelleygee's review against another edition

4.5

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Another beautifully written, and heavy with sadness, account of the lives of complicated women. A companion to (a sort of sequel/prequel to) Vermette's previous novel The Break, The Strangers follows a similar structure, with shifting POV's of the women in the Stranger family. We revisit Phoenix from The Break, and also get to know her sister, mother, and grandmother. This explores intergenerational trauma, racism, misogyny, colonialism, and abuse. It's a scathing critique of the systems that work so hard to oppress indigenous women and girls in this country. It's not devoid of hope - it carefully outlines the importance of family connection, culturally-sensitive restorative justice, storytelling, and opportunity. While this novel is interconnected with The Break, it could easily be read as a standalone.

errigal_m's review against another edition

3.75

emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

ashlynbv's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

strawberrymivvy's review against another edition

2.0

challenging slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I found this book a real struggle, I may have enjoyed it more if I'd read it rather than listed to the audio book (though the narrator did an amazing job of differentiating characters) but I found the constant swearing really hard work, and I'm no prude.

Very little to be hopeful about in this family saga, one disaster after another, and whilst that may well be the truth for a lot of indigenous families, it soon became draining

gpapish's review against another edition

4.0

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

caro_besharah's review against another edition

4.0

emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

emmasbookishself's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

A beautiful companion novel to The Break.

There is an abundance of loss, inter generational trauma and pain but if you look closely this book is so full of love, hope and resilience.

These characters make you feel right along with them, and you hope for them as they navigate their pains.

Content Warnings

everythingistbr's review against another edition

4.5

emotional reflective sad medium-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

gjack's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

la_terreur's review against another edition

3.25

emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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