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captainoliimar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
analienfromouterspace'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Vomit, Trafficking, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and War
Minor: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
katrina_5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and War
Moderate: Death, Genocide, and Blood
lucy_shanners'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Bullying, Pedophilia, and Vomit
amphipodgirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bookcaptivated'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Slavery and Vomit
Minor: Sexual assault, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
leabhar_love'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? No
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
booksanna'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Toxic friendship, and War
Minor: Bullying, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
sewer_rat'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Vomit and Kidnapping
sauvageloup'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? Yes
3.25
Pros:
- it really picked up by the end, I was fully gripped and just finished it now after hours of reading. The story and the action is definitely there, and really gets going.
- the worldbuilding and the fantasy were interesting and I appreciated the map in the front. I liked the side-characters too, Britta, Keita and the others, and whilst Deka didn't grab me, I did like her. The plot twists were such that I definitely didn't expect the reveal of
- Ixu was very cute
Cons:
- Deka is very passive and seems to get pushed around by whoever is the first to tell her anything. She makes no steps to seek information for herself, but only when others are willing to tell her or allow her access (like to the heraldry). I thought she was a bit dim telling the other alaki all about her special abilities (she's pretty overpowered) from the off, but that worked out I guess.
- the start felt very amateurishly written, with very typical YA tropes used in an unoriginal way, and way, way too much exposition. The author introduces far too many characters who barely have a role and there was way too much telling. Every other paragraph had several sentences just narrating about the world.
- I hear what Forna is trying to say about feminism but it didn't carry off for me. The comments on the real world were too heavy-handed
- the trauma throughout didn't feel realistically handled. There's moments of dwelling on it, but it felt shallow and didn't affect Deka nearly as much as could have been expected. The ongoing impact of trauma was much better shown in The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, imo.
- Deka's character also seems to change in the space between one chapter and the next. In the previous ones, she prays to Okoyo, she wants to be pure, she hates being a demon. And then suddenly she's having all these rebellious thoughts and calling all the other girls to face their natures. That character development felt totally rushed and provoked by nothing at all.
This one definitely improved and I don't know whether I'll check out no.2 when it's out or not. It felt like a book with a lot of potential, but it fell short, feeling too shallow and awkward to be really brilliant. There was also not really enough angst for me - a lot of torture and pain but very little of the actual struggling to deal and heal with it.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence