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town_scar's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Rape, Blood, Alcoholism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Car accident, and Alcohol
Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Vomit, Police brutality, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Racism, Cursing, Cancer, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Cultural appropriation, and Death
lucybmn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
- I might have gotten more out of it if the blurb and the opening chapter hadn't told me the whole plot. If what happened to the sisters was more of a surprise. This is part of why it felt so slow for me. It just felt like a long way to say what had already been summarized and I was waiting for something new to happen... and nothing really did.
- I somewhat wish that the Iris Chapel/Sylvia Wren perspectives had been more mixed together. It felt like an awfully long time to wait to get back to the protagonist we were first introduced to (even if they are the same person).
- While I appreciate the feminist themes and the critique of the treatment of women, I found it extremely heavy-handed and also completely mystifying. Which was maybe the point but didn't work for me. Why this family? Why Belinda's line? What was it all for? And why did it happen this way?
- Lastly, it seemed like the gun legacy and the victim ghosts were going to be a much bigger part of the story, and that was interesting to me, but it was disappointingly sidelined.
Okay that is a lot of complaints lol, this wasn't my favorite book. But despite all of that, I did find it interesting and well-written, and I was invested in Iris's story. Just wish it had been executed a bit differently.
Graphic: Death, Gore, and Child death
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Self harm
atsundarsingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Car accident, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Confinement