Reviews

Kurangaituku by Whiti Hereaka

pjroeder's review

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challenging dark reflective medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

magentabyfive's review against another edition

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The writing style and philosophical imaginings of this book are a little too abstract for me at the moment. I’ll try this book again another time 

madreadsbooks's review

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

4.0

genxian's review

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

charlottek34's review

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dark emotional informative reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

Amazing book. The writing was beautiful and I loved how creative the form was. I read the dark cover first and I felt like it really added a lot of depth to the light half which is the more “traditional re-telling” of the original myth. I LOVED the magic system and felt that the way I read the book made it make more sense since I already saw the way it worked with creatures other than Kura. The narration was so compelling and one of the best non-human narrators I’ve ever read. I learned so much about native Aotearoa birds and Maōri mythology from this book which I also loved. Overall amazing read with a unique perspective on womanhood, colonization, and stories themselves.   

ana_vl's review

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

3 parter.
Enjoyed the 1st and 2nd, found the 3rd a bit more challenging. Felt that it was a series of too many ideas / elements to follow along easily

a8bhatia's review

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dark emotional mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • 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

quailtea's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

i wanted to love it, the format is intriguing and the potential for the main character compelling, but the prose didn't sink it with me, like it was very dedicated to being lyrical but then didn't land as plot or character. the format was also ultimately annoying- read the light side first! the format implied either side could be read in any order, but reading the dark side first took away all of the tension in the light side, and it felt like a drag. all in all, i don't think this novel was made for me, and that's ok :)

wildbecs's review

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challenging dark informative mysterious reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

sarahburton's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0