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librarianmage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, and Murder
Moderate: Death of parent and Violence
Minor: Child death
lilifane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It was love at first page. The writing is soooo beautiful from the very first few words tbh and these first 3 pages left such a deep impact on me that they carried my interest for the rest of the book. I cannot tell you how often I reread that first chapter. Also the amount of quotes I wrote down is ... worrysome. Then the structure is soooo satifying. I live for these kind of books.
And then there are the characters. I fell in love with them, hard. I didn't know this was even possible. The way you get to know the two protagonists in such an intimate way, I felt all the feels. Especially because they are siblings with such a deep connection and you basically spend most of the plot in their heads. Uff, I cried SO SO SO SO much because of the things they went through, physically and mentally. There is this main plot that is epic and kind of... hard to grasp. It's very abstract and sciency and phantastical. But since I genuinely like these kind of elements in books, I enjoyed that, too. Although I had to just accept some things that clearly went over my head or were too vague. But the majority of the plot is just about (found) family and friendship and love (mainly the love between siblings) and loneliness and trust/loss of trust and longing. It just broke my heart and healed it over and over again.
I know this sounds very wholesome but this book is actually quite.... brutal. So tw/cw for suicide attempt, violence, murder, blood (SO much blood), natural disaster/catastrophe.
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Also: tw suicide attempt, suicidal ideation/mentions, murders (including children), and a POC character gets murdered in specific, lots of talk about dismembered body parts
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
whatellisreadnext's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Roger and Dodger meet as children, but not in an ordinary way. They speak to each other through their minds, but live hundreds of miles away from one another. They're both blissfully unaware, that their lives were being written even before they were born.
Well guess who found a new favourite book? Middlegame is bat shit crazy and I loved every second of it. It's not a small book, coming in at just over 500 pages, and it took me about a week to read, but only because I was enjoying it so much, that I didn't want it to end.
Time travel in books is so hard to get right, but Seanan McGuire absolutely nailed it. The hints at alternate timelines, and the countdown like structure, showing us failed attempts at saving the world, was done so so well.
I loved Rodger and Dodger so much, finally a believable and platonic relationship at the centre of a narrative. Their ups and downs felt so real, and I was rooting for them the whole way through. I read Over The Woodward Wall late last year, which is the fictional children's book featured throughout Middlegame, and I also loved seeing the parallels of Zib and Avery to Rodger and Dodger. It was really clever, and just added another layer to my love for this story.
If you love character driven, timey wimey sci-fi that is super weird, you need this book. I honestly can't pick one fault with it and I'm already looking forward to reading it again 😁
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
gheron'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
4.0
Graphic: Self harm and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, and Murder
cryptid_crow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Suicidal thoughts, and Self harm
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
moot's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Violence
allonsythornraxx's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
4 ⭐
This book was completely wild and a bit mind-boggling to the point where I found myself re-reading sentences a lot. But it was also fantastic and so obviously a Seanan McGuire book so I loved it! I loved getting to know Rodger and Dodger, especially via the audiobook which was SO GOOD. I absolutely can't wait for the sequel (even though you can 100% read this as a standalone) and will be reading Over The Woodward Wall asap!
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Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, and Death
angelareads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, and Mental illness
Minor: Child death, Confinement, and Forced institutionalization
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Finishing this book feels like waking up from a dream, I read it in sections, and loved every minute of it but now I'm struggling to say all the wonderful things it led me through. Every time I finished another section I was torn between a desperate desire to know what happened next, and the existential terror of a precious resource dwindling; not wanting this book to ever end. All the characters are complex and vivid; the villains are horrendously dark and terribly evil but also completely understandable, with simple motivations pulling them along twisted paths full of malice, greed, and efficient brutality. Roger and Dodger (named by people who should never be around children) begin as lonely child geniuses and become so much more.
It's a story of time loops, paradoxes, trying over and over to get everything just right. I love time loop stories, but this one stands out because it's unafraid to let things go. It's surprisingly linear, reserving temporal mischief for where it's most needed, where change will be poignant and weighty. We hear whispers, catch glimpses of how-it-might-have-been-but-is-not. This book is rich with metaphors, practically dripping with them when Roger is involved. Dodger's sections are more brusque, creating a distinct feel when the perspective switches between them. I won't spoil the other perspectives we get, but the narrators have enough presence to affect the tone of their various sections and it works really well (both in each section and coming together to create the narrative).
Book CWs for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt.
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Death, Bullying, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Ableism, Torture, and Child death
CW for bullying, parental gaslighting and emotional abuse, murder, major character death, arson, graphic depiction of suicide attempt, parental death.