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4.49 AVERAGE
4.49 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia, Racism, Suicide
Probably closer to 4.5 maybe 5. Audiobook version, the narrator made this very real. Sad, depressing and real life, unfortunately for some.
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
sad
A heart-wrenching novel following a young boy in rural Kentucky as he grows up into young adulthood. This book is all it's cracked up to be, if not more. This book captures (what I imagine to be) an honest perspective on Appalachia, being a young boy, and the foster care system. It explores the draws and drawbacks of calling Appalachia home. The author's writing is beautiful, and I love her prose. This is my first read of her major novels, and I'm interested to read more. I actually recommend the audiobook on this one, as it was a beautiful experience to feel so immersed in Demon's thoughts from the narration, and I struggled a bit with the grammar and writing while reading the physical book. I am so glad I read Empire of Pain before this book, so I could better understand the plague of OxyContin on communities like this. I felt deeply connected to the characters in the book, and the author does a great job of creating nuanced characters that often change throughout the book. While the book was devastating, I had only heard about how sad it was, so I was pleasantly surprised at how funny and hopeful it could be as well. I really loved this book and would recommend it highly.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse
phew. this was a looooong one.
BEAUTIFULLY written characters-- i mean world-class in terms of fleshing out character motivations, character voice, etc. kingsolver could write the book (and sorta did). although predictable at times, like who demon would end up with, the story was so moving in empathy and feeling.
although i'm giving it 4 stars, i definitely had a major quarrel with the work. all in all, i felt the novel was entirely too long. and i mean tooooo long. the beginning pulled me in immediately and had me reading on thinking this could possibly be my favorite read of the year (sadly it wasn't). i'd argue the entire section of demon's childhood, up until he starts living with coach, could (and would be) more effective as a short story. the football story line lost me, as did the middle of the novel when i felt like so much of the plot was being lost. the ending redeemed this flaw a little bit, but i definitely couldn't shake the feeling of the author talking in circles.
overall, a great story that maybe, perhaps went on a lil too long.
________________________________________________________
re-read review #2:
this time i decided to listen to it in audiobook format and wow. i enjoyed it so much more than i thought i would the second time around. the narrator fit demon's style and essence so well, so i truly felt like i was hearing the story from demon himself.
all the beautiful story mumbo jumbo aside, this book is truly remarkable. the world kingsolver creates could rival any fantasy book in terms of scope of believability and depth of characters. still feel it goes on a little long, but i also disagree with my previous sentiment about this story being more effective as a short story. every page is needed is pull the reader in and fully feel empathy for demon and those in his life and appalachia as a whole.
this book is generational and one that i can truly say is a modern classic. proudly one i'd re-read again and again. so, see ya for round 3?
BEAUTIFULLY written characters-- i mean world-class in terms of fleshing out character motivations, character voice, etc. kingsolver could write the book (and sorta did). although predictable at times, like who demon would end up with, the story was so moving in empathy and feeling.
although i'm giving it 4 stars, i definitely had a major quarrel with the work. all in all, i felt the novel was entirely too long. and i mean tooooo long. the beginning pulled me in immediately and had me reading on thinking this could possibly be my favorite read of the year (sadly it wasn't). i'd argue the entire section of demon's childhood, up until he starts living with coach, could (and would be) more effective as a short story. the football story line lost me, as did the middle of the novel when i felt like so much of the plot was being lost. the ending redeemed this flaw a little bit, but i definitely couldn't shake the feeling of the author talking in circles.
overall, a great story that maybe, perhaps went on a lil too long.
________________________________________________________
re-read review #2:
this time i decided to listen to it in audiobook format and wow. i enjoyed it so much more than i thought i would the second time around. the narrator fit demon's style and essence so well, so i truly felt like i was hearing the story from demon himself.
all the beautiful story mumbo jumbo aside, this book is truly remarkable. the world kingsolver creates could rival any fantasy book in terms of scope of believability and depth of characters. still feel it goes on a little long, but i also disagree with my previous sentiment about this story being more effective as a short story. every page is needed is pull the reader in and fully feel empathy for demon and those in his life and appalachia as a whole.
this book is generational and one that i can truly say is a modern classic. proudly one i'd re-read again and again. so, see ya for round 3?
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow. Took me awhile to really get my wits about me on this one but ultimately enjoyed the novel. Rooting for Demon until the end there. Go demon go.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated