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emilypete17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, and Grief
Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
serena_hien's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, and Classism
nicamooch'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
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, and Abandonment
emma_the_reader_girl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
bendersreads'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Transphobia, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Deadnaming
ashleykarime'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Transphobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder
bentenuala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Deadnaming, Death, Torture, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
cherie_mishu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Rating
Overall: 4/5
Characters: 5/5
Setting: 4/5
Writing: 3.5/5
Plot and Themes: 3/5
Content and trigger warnings:
↷Blood magic (referenced), Character abuse, Deadnaming of a trans character, Death, Gender dysphoria, Homophobia, Misgendering of a trans character, Transphobia
review
I really enjoyed the relationships between all the characters, especially Yads and Jules' relationship and how it formed. However I do believe the overall plot was kind of... obvious, as in it would obviously end up being someone close to them that end up hurting them. But the whole storyline throughout the chapters is what kept me going, wanting to learn more abut the characters, how relationships formed and what exactly would happen! I found the book to be a average paced read at least and didn't rush myself to get through. I definitely would love to talk about the characters, I believe the culture and characters are really what made this book stand out.
Conclusion
Pros: really enjoyed seeing the difference in culture and how they view lgbt folks
Cons: overall ending didn't give much of a surprise or suspense
Overall 4/5 stars
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Hate crime, Racism, Transphobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
beforeviolets'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? N/A
5.0
I don't know what I was expecting but I was not expecting this to quickly become a new favorite book and I was NOT expecting to be breaking out the waterworks at midnight after staying up to finish it in a day because I could not physically bring myself to put this book down.
This book has my whole heart and soul and I am so grateful to have spent my Saturday visiting this world and this story. Aiden Thomas flawlessly developed an environment and community in this book that is so incredibly approachable and engaging to the reader at every turn. My emotional and mental attention was constantly and fully plugged in to each and every moment. And the pacing was impeccable. I never felt dragged along or like a moment was inappropriately lingering but I also never found myself feeling rushed through the experiences or through the beats of the story, which is incredibly impressive - especially since a lot of the YA books I've read tend to sacrifice the tension and the dramatic rhythm for the sake of a quicker pace.
Though this book is YA, it handles such a large amount of deep and difficult topics such as transphobia, racism, death, grief, and more with such an immense amount of ease and grace. Any book that can make me both cry and laugh within a matter of sentences is going to be a fast favorite, and this is no exception. I can't wait to read more of Thomas's work.
If you've been thinking about picking this one up, this is your sign to do so.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Self harm
queenfury'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
I cried, like, six times.
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Death of parent
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Xenophobia, and Police brutality