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sierraclimbs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
The premise of it is very intriguing. It’s essentially How to Train Your Dragon, but with chimera instead of dragons & on an alien planet.
There is important representation in this book, the main protagonist is a nonverbal autistic woman. I’m happy there are people writing this representation into their stories. But unfortunately it did not really work for me…
It ended up reading really young & there was a change made mid book that made me a little uncomfortable…
Also, I can’t find anything about this being a first in a series, but the last couple chapters really seemed to set up a sequel.
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
kai_watson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism
redheadsuperpowers'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? It's complicated
5.0
I was deeply appreciative of the writing style in this novel, making it feel very natural when I read. The non-verbal main character was written with sensitivity, and depth. A cast amount of diversity was offered among the cast, and all the relationships were very well thought out and felt so real. The world building was woven throughout the entire novel, and didn't feel like stage directions like so many novels do. I love the depth of description we get of the setting, and I could clearly imagine what the flooded forest looked like, and how crowded Citadel itself must be. We see a lot of connections between the cast, but I appreciate that it doesn't veer into romance, leaving us to walk Olivia's grief with her. As a prolific reader, I will be recommending this to people.
Olivia is a non-verbal autistic teen who just lost her boyfriend, Elias, on a hunt against the demons that keep their people confined to the Citadel. They have been fighting these demons for generations and slowly outgrowing their walls, as food shortages abound. They also follow a very strict religion that has no space for doubt, and regularly culls heretics for questioning the teachings. Olivia just wants to know why. Why did the demons kill Elias? Why do they attack humans on site? Why do they keep them from leaving the Citadel? So she sneaks away and enters the forest alone, and finds out more than she bargained for.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail