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adoras'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
5.0
This left me feeling melancholy. This is one of those books I love but don't feel that I have a lot to say about, maybe because I need to let it sit with me for a while. I enjoyed going in not knowing too much, although I saw someone compare it to Fleabag and in a lot of ways I think that's perfect. For some reason, I can't quite bump my rating up to five stars, but I really enjoyed this, now want to own a physical copy, and am excited to read more by Raven Leilani.
Graphic: Abortion, Alcoholism, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Police brutality
Minor: Cancer and Mental illness
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
My critiques, if implimented, would have ruined the book. There was no thread of whimsy to brighten it, which was intentional. The story didn't really kick off until the mid-point, but the depth of the opening was integral. I preferred reading about Rebecca and Akila and wished Eric were less present, but there would be no Rebecca or Akila in Edie's life without Eric.
This novel portrays the tragedy of Edie's reality in the most beautiful way possible, but the portrayal is too faithful to reality for me.
Graphic: Blood, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Death, Death of parent, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Car accident, Cursing, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Rape, and Vomit
whatannikareads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
capote65's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Racism
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Drug use, Violence, and Misogyny
Minor: Animal death and Suicidal thoughts
bookish_sabrina's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I find it interesting that this novel is written in first-person present tense. It gives the prose a lot of momentum, particularly in Leilani's long sentences. They start off innocuous and then suddenly slam you into bitter truths about Edie's past, as well as observations and critiques on society, with a particular focus on racism and misogyny. This novel is propulsive. It is a quick read despite how uncomfortable and upsetting some of the subject matter and scenes are. The present perspective also gives us great insight into Edie, and how she is unable to see herself in the future and is unwilling to dwell too much on her past.
There's no question that Leilani is an excellent writer. I found her characters to be well-rounded. It is funny and insightful. However, I don't think it is perfect. Sometimes, debut novels burst at their seams a bit; it feels like the author is trying to put too many ideas into one book. I think this is the case with Luster. I also found that some of her struggles felt a little too on the nose. I'm specifically thinking about Edie's interview at the clown college and her inability to properly paint a satisfactory self-portrait.
I'm glad I finally read this hyped novel. I didn't love it as much as some, but I also acknowledge that this book wasn't written for me, and I'm glad that others are loving it so much.
Graphic: Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, and Racism
Minor: Animal death, Death, Grief, Infertility, and Police brutality
gagne's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Alcoholism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Racism, Racial slurs, Vomit, Suicide, and Physical abuse
Minor: Animal death, Police brutality, Miscarriage, Drug abuse, and Death
noshelf_control's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, Racism, Miscarriage, Infidelity, and Infertility
Minor: Animal death, Medical content, Mental illness, Police brutality, and Sexual violence
mfeldma3's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
kflv's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Violence
Minor: Animal death