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camz's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, and Pedophilia
katrinarose'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
The author does an incredible job making fully developed characters. Reading her writing makes me feel justified for every complaint I’ve made for other books not having good character development, because THIS is what good character development looks like (and I’m not just picky, although maybe I am that too.) Kim definitely puts you on an emotional rollercoaster - you begin hating a character from another character’s viewpoint but then you get humbled once you get the other character’s perspective, backstory, emotions, and motivations. It truly is a study of “there’s two sides to every story”, and I think it gives the reader a lot to think about, not just in the book, but how we interact with the stories told every day by people we know and especially online.
The storyline itself was very engaging; it was very hard to put the book down. I really enjoyed all the POVs, for the reasons listed above but also for how it propelled the story along. I’m in awe of how she kept the mystery going even when we did get the the perspectives of the one(s) who committed the crime. I like a court procedural style. The back and forth was very satisfying to me, and reminded me a little of The Girl Who Kicked the Hornet’s Nest. I think it was believable but I think that’s because I found the characters so believable, and I understand a few criticisms of the crime plot’s unbelievability. However I don’t think it was enough to ruin or even affect my reading experience.
I’m in love with Kim’s writing style too. She gives her characters such grace while not shying away from the dark things they do too. In my opinion she is a master of similes, never before have I seen them used so often with such strong effect.
I feel like I could talk about this book forever but I’ll leave it at that. I can’t think of anyone I wouldn’t recommend this book to, except maybe minors due to some tough subjects. It’s a new favorite.
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, and Racism
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual content, and Xenophobia
apiora215'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Sexual violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Body horror, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
brookey8888's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Suicide, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Infertility, and Death of parent
ashleysbookthoughts's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Death, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Murder, Racism, Suicide, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content, Stalking, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Excrement, and Infertility
Minor: Cancer
zamzamzebra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Infertility and Medical content
Misinformation about Autism/ASD PTSDdezembrluft'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Death
Moderate: Murder and Ableism
kleaf'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? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Infertility, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Death, Medical content, Murder, Sexual assault, Suicide, Death of parent, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Rape
maria1085's review
- 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? Yes
3.75
Liked:
- the courtroom drama aspect
- The mystery that kept me guessing at who was behind the explosion
- The different storylines and how they were interconnected
- All the secrets, and some that will change the course of things once they are revealed
- How each chapter featured a different character’s perspective
- Strong character development
⚠️This book is very trigger heavy. Infertility, murder, special needs, controversial treatment, sexual assault, treatment of immigrants.
Disliked:
-At the beginning it was confusing with such a full cast of characters
-The controversial treatment of children with autism. Having worked with the special needs community that part was particularly difficult for me
My book club chose this for March and we were very split on this one. It made for great discussion though. A couple of DNFs, some of us really liked it, and a couple finished but didn’t love it. Overall a great debut book!
#bookstagram #bookclub #bookreview #booknerd #lovetoread #momsthatread
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infertility, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Child death, Death of parent, and Suicide
annoyedhumanoid'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? Yes
5.0
hot take, i'm not that big a fan of Shakespeare because so many of his plots (at least, his tragedies) are like, if any one thing in this series of unfortunate events had gone differently then we wouldn't be in these tragic circumstances, except the series of unfortunate events is ridiculous and arbitrary. best example: in Hamlet (spoilers), when Hamlet stabs and kills Polonius, who was eavesdropping behind a curtain, because Hamlet thought he heard a rat. that's just undeniably stupid for a major plot point. Miracle Creek has the same concept—if anything had gone differently we could have avoided tragedy—but pulls it off expertly. Shakespeare could never??
could this be considered southern gothic? it's set in Virginia, nearly everyone is a grotesque character, and there's some truly disturbing content, plus themes of racism, sexism, and poverty.
this review has been completely shaped by my English class experience
cover design review: ★★★★½. love the colors, the scenery, and the burn holes, but it starts to feel crowded with the addition of glitter and stars. not a big fan of the typeface, makes me think of Papyrus 😬
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Ableism, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Rape
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Confinement, Excrement, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Bullying, Stalking, and Vomit