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peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Gaslighting, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Cancer, and Torture
Minor: Dysphoria, Grief, Misogyny, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Animal death, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Rape, Vomit, and Gore
nineinchnails'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
i don’t usually mention these, but i really recommend reading the dedication, author’s note, and acknowledgments, as they gave context that made the novel feel even more meaningful. this book gave me similar feelings to “mornings in jenin” by susan abulhawa. this was over 500 pages so it was a long read (from what i remember about horrors) but it was because it was so bleak and heavy rather than it feeling like a slog. not a sentence of this felt wasted and i highly recommend giving this a read, even if it’s not a novel you would typically gravitate towards. everyone has something to learn from this book!
Graphic: Sexism, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism
Minor: Pedophilia, Slavery, War, and Sexual violence
Apartheid, Jim crow, and Segregationoutofthepinksky's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Hate crime, Confinement, Child death, Bullying, Racism, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Racial slurs, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Cursing, Death of parent, Misogyny, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Pedophilia, and Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse, Slavery, Cancer, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
vegan5533's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Rape, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Vomit, Sexual harassment, Torture, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Child death, and Gaslighting
kyrstin_p1989'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Vomit, Slavery, Child death, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Cancer, Alcoholism, Dementia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Murder, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
gwenswoons's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Gun violence, Body horror, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child death, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Body shaming, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Abandonment, Bullying, Cancer, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Torture, Trafficking, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Classism, and Death
wlreed312's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is one that will make you sit and stare for a while after you finish. It's a hard read, and it's based on the Dozier School for Boys that was in Marianna Florida, and honors Due's relative who died there. The brutality is gut-wrenching, and the fear comes not only from the main villain, but from the system that turns a blind eye (or worse, actively aids) the evil that sends children as young as eight into these institutions. Robbie's sister Gloria is a wonderful character as we see her try to get help to free her younger brother. We see the town through her eyes, and her anger and disappointment with several people who she tries to talk into helping her. These secondary characters are brilliantly nuanced, in my opinion. All Gloria can see is they aren't brave enough to help in a situation where they should; they know what they need to do. And she's right! But one of these is a Jewish man whose children are already being bullied at school; he fears what might happen if he steps even more out of line. It would have been a very real fear at the time, and in the brief time we spend with the character I thought his fear for his family that wars with his need to do more was well done. There's another character who is afraid for different reasons, and I really liked the way they are written as well. It's a great look at a horrible system and how impossible it is to fight it as an individual.
I think my favorite thing about the book was the pacing. It starts off slower, but as it continues the action escalates and my heart was pounding for the last hundred pages or so. The way the tension slowly ramped up was absolutely excellent. Highly recommended if you are in the right space to read it because as far as content warnings oh my god all of them.
Graphic: Child abuse, Forced institutionalization, Racial slurs, Death, Racism, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Slavery, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Hate crime, Murder, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Cancer, Gun violence, and Antisemitism
Minor: Domestic abuse
thehmkane'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: Murder, Confinement, Genocide, Abandonment, Bullying, Torture, Hate crime, Gore, Racism, Animal death, Classism, Death of parent, Blood, Terminal illness, Grief, Police brutality, Child abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Antisemitism, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Trafficking, Medical content, Rape, Sexism, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Pedophilia
eclipse799's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Torture, Toxic friendship, Abortion, Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, War, and Hate crime
gloomypanda's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Grief, Child abuse, Violence, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Murder, Sexual harassment, Cursing, Misogyny, Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Slavery, Fire/Fire injury, Police brutality, Sexism, Classism, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, and Rape