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talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Self harm, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Xenophobia, Genocide, Slavery, Grief, Medical content, and Torture
Minor: Animal death, War, Vomit, Suicide, and Infidelity
laurenipsums's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Xenophobia, Genocide, Slavery, Racial slurs, and War
Minor: War
karalara'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Body horror, Torture, and Blood
Moderate: Grief and Slavery
Minor: Genocide
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
reading_gives_serotonin's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
Moderate: War, Slavery, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
aidamaria_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gore, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Slavery, Torture, Violence, War, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
btwnprintedpgs'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? It's complicated
5.0
At its heart, Descendant of the Crane is a book about morality. We all want to do the right thing, we all want to believe in the systems that have been put in place, and we all want to hope that the people around us are true, faithful, and honest. This book breaks down the concept of morality and truth and makes Hesina, our MC, question what is real and what is a veneer over a broken system.
What I love most about this book is that it showed the truth of humanity - no matter your position, your intentions, or your heart, humans are fallible and we make mistakes. Hesina makes choices that she believes are right and will lead her to the truth, but the brokenness of the system results in consequence after consequence, loss after loss. And she owns up to them, which is so rare to see, but you can see her taking accountability and bearing the weight of the losses on her shoulder.
The twist at the end still haunts me and I wish that we could've gotten a sequel for this one. Alas, not in the cards, but where it ends, there's hope for everyone left and I loved the potential we're left with.
Descendant of the Crane remains a favourite for me, and I definitely recommend picking this one up. I think it'll surprise you.
TW: death, grief, torture, violence, blood, injury detail, genocide, slavery, racism (of a magical group of people); mentions suicide, war, vomit
Plot: 5/5
Characters: 5/5
World Building: 4.5/5
Writing: 5/5
Pacing: 5/5
Overall: 5/5
eARC gifted by Joan He's previous problematic publisher, so I won't be thanking them, but acknowledging the gifted copy.
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Genocide, Torture, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Slavery, Racism, Suicide, Vomit, and War