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thatokiebird'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
3.0
The characters are interesting and captivating, and the pacing between dialogue and narration is satisfying. However the love story between the two main characters felt so insincere, a huge lack of compatibility, and the book would have felt much improved by nixing the love story completely and let them simply be friends supporting one another on their journeys. Still overall I am glad I read this book, and am interested in picking up another of Nnedi Okorafor's books in the future.
Moderate: Violence
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
tigger89'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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, and Death
The narrating character experiences PTSD-like symptoms throughout the book, with repeated incidents of triggers leading to vivid memories of violence and gore.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
bandysbooks'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
3.5
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Minor: Sexual content
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
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
ally_camel's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Murder, and Violence