Reviews tagging 'Gun violence'

The Cartographers by Peng Shepherd

69 reviews

ginnydtaylor's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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navayiota's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? N/A
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I thoroughly enjoyed this book. It gave me Secret History-but they grew up vibes. Now I really want to start a map collection.. 

Two things that bothered me were how stereotypically not-like-other-girls Nel is, (petite, unruly hair, big glasses, big cardigans, not chic, bookish, quiet but feisty) i struggled to imagine her that way and the wording always prompted an eye roll from me. The second thing was just how easily everyone spilled their past to Nel even though it was the first time they had seen her in 2+ decades, and the fact that they included all their petty drama. It completely broke immersion for me whenever someone who was prev ously reserved started talking about what was going on in their relationship and even their sex lives. I liked the story but the way it was conveyed to the reader felt weird.
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hmwoodward's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I enjoyed the setting of this book, the focus on maps, and that it was a mystery.

Though I predicted the villain and the twist, I didn't predict the ending. In fact, it still doesn't entirely make sense to me. Maybe it will after I sit with it more? On track to be a 4 star read but changed to 3 due to this unsatisfying ending.


I listened on audiobook and can't say this was my favorite narrator. There were several narrators, yet the main female narrator still did the stereotypical gruff male voice throughout. I'd understand if it was a one woman production but that was not the case here.
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alexlily's review against another edition

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4.0

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the_book_bee's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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kcjulia's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

Entertaining mystery with magical maps! Loved the storyline, but not the writing. Major plot holes in the big reveal.
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lantheaume's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

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ofheartsandaros's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

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olma's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

3.0

Had trouble setting this down. It reminded me of a mix of “Mr. Penumbra's 24-Hour Bookstore”
by Robin Sloan and “Series of Unfortunate Events.” 
That being said, I felt like the end was somewhat rushed and under-explained. Nell said she wouldn’t pick the map over her family, but she technically did and for some reason took months to actually reach out and let Felix know she was okay. Also, I felt like the explanation of the map wasn’t satisfactory. If all you had to do was make a map to create anything you wanted, why was it so important to put it into the Haberson map? He could have just drawn a map by hand theoretically and changed anything. I get that the danger was that he could control the world, but since other trap rooms /phantom settlements existed, there’s no reason Tam’s specific map needed to be uploaded (other than Wally’s obsession with her). I just didn’t feel like Tam staying away for 30 years actually needed to happen based on what actually happened and could have happened. Why protect that town from Wally when there could have been hundreds more? They literally could have tracked down any map with a phantom settlement.
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