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clare072'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Grief, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, Drug abuse, and Murder
Minor: Cursing, Trafficking, Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Kidnapping, Abortion, and Incest
paukinra'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
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Gun violence, Ableism, Drug abuse, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, and Injury/Injury detail
rlgreen91's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Anyways, if I had to pick one topic about the book that is top of mind it would be Lauren's hyperempathy. I have a lot of thoughts of Lauren's disability, as evident by the many notes and marked pages in my copy. I can say that, when I think of the books I've read over my life, this is hands down the best portrayal I have encountered of what it is like to live with a mental illness. Granted, I could certainly read more literature by people with disabilities and mental illnesses, but I would be interested to see how their characters compare to Lauren. There's just so much that Butler hints at or suggests about how disabilities and mental illness affects people throughout the book.
One thing that comes to mind is how Lauren's mental illness wasn't just mental. Yes, her hyperempathy was a delusional disorder, and occurred within her mind, but it had real physical effects on her. She could, at certain times in life, start bleeding if she saw other people bleeding. If she sees someone on the ground due to pain, all of a sudden she's on the ground, unable to move as well. Even though the cause of her pain is entirely mental, she's still physically affected during any episodes. Her mental illness affected her physical health, which is something that I don't know that we've really grasped as a whole yet, or maybe we had and forgot at some point.
Another thing that comes to mind is how societal norms and expectations of race, gender, age, etc. can affect a person's experiences with disabilities and others' perceptions of people with disabilities. There's a moment in the novel where Lauren realizes that having hyperempathy, and its resulting reaction to pain, is probably a lot more accepted for women than it is for men. It's an aha moment that took her a bit to have, and you can see how it colors her interactions with Mora.
There's just so much in this book, not just about living with disabilities and mental illnesses, but also about community building, understanding when and how to trust and be vulnerable with others, what it means to really be secure in life, climate change, and so so much more. This is definitely a book I plan to reread at some point, fully expecting to come away amazed with a different set of new perspectives. Let's just hope that 2024 in real life isn't as bleak as the one in the novel.
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, Body horror, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Ableism, Mental illness, Rape, and Animal death
bookcaptivated'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Kidnapping, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Death of parent, Violence, Gun violence, Gore, Grief, Death, Murder, Blood, Sexism, Slavery, and Torture
Moderate: Sexual content, Physical abuse, Trafficking, Cannibalism, Drug use, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Pedophilia
Minor: Addiction, Gaslighting, Ableism, and Classism
shieldbearer'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
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Violence, Child death, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Police brutality
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Cursing, Drug use, Drug abuse, Xenophobia, Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Medical content, and Slavery
Minor: Incest
courtneyfalling'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: Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Death of parent, Drug use, and Ableism
Minor: Cannibalism and Slavery
alexture'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Police brutality
mscalls's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
beliboville's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder, and Rape
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Drug use, Slavery, and Torture
amelreads'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, and Blood
Moderate: Rape, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, and Trafficking
Minor: Transphobia, Medical trauma, Racism, Ableism, and Animal death