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elly29'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
4.0
But overall, it was a neat story about a cybernetically-enhanced woman, trying to make her own choices.
Moderate: Blood and Ableism
Minor: Physical abuse
laurareads87'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Hate crime, Gun violence, Violence, Murder, Death, Medical content, Blood, Animal death, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Car accident
albernikolauras's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Out of the 3 works I have read by Nnedi Okorafor, this is my favorite. The world was captivating and the all-seeing, all-controlling company and the way power was generated in this book brought forth a lot of themes on capitalism, whose land can you take to provide power for the masses, personhood, the value of life, and your privacy (or lack of it) within the tech you own. The characters were very interesting to follow - AO and DNA were such interesting characters to follow.
The issue for me came from Okorafor's writing. I can say for a fact I probably won't try any of her longer form fiction because it takes me so long to decipher her sentences and leaves me a little disconnected from the story. I am not deadset against her shorter fiction though, because her ideas are always fascinating.
Moderate: Violence, Chronic illness, Animal death, Ableism, and Car accident
onemorepagecrew's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Ableism, and Murder
bluejayreads's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content
piperlee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
- world building!! (okorafor’s specialty, I think)
- allegorical theme
- setting in futuristic Nigeria
- interesting people groups
things that fell flat:
- I didn’t feel any connection to the characters - they were poorly developed
- “emotional” parts didn't feel emotional - again felt underdeveloped
- there wasn’t a clear direction for the story?
- portrayal of disability/AO’s attitude & vocabulary was weird/negative
- several uses of the word “cripple(d)”
- mostly everything just felt like a first draft without the details/dialogue/etc. fleshing out the story to make it feel immersive & interesting
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Violence, Ableism, and Racism
Minor: Toxic relationship
nicklybear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Gun violence, and Religious bigotry
lizclark81'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
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Blood, Colonisation, Death, Murder, and Violence
leahrosereads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Enjoyment: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Start: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Characters: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Atmosphere: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Plot: ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Ending: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
Style: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.5
What I loved
Much like Dr. Okorafor's other novellas, this one starts off with a bang and then doesn't let up. The characters are phenomenally written and it was impossible to not root for them and hope that everything would be OK. AO and DNA go through so much here just trying to stay alive.
A lot of the science and tech went over my head, but I still felt like I was able to enjoy the story and the topics it was exploring.
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, and Body shaming
pvbobrien'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism and Blood
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Pregnancy, Car accident, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts