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stwriter92'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: Alcoholism, Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Alcohol
Moderate: Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War
feministy'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
- A character with neopronouns is always a nice thing to see.
- Some of the passages around organizing really hit home, especially the ones that centered ideological disagreement amongst protesters.
- Always here for the fight for Palestinian liberation shown in a positive light.
Cons:
- Maddie is a pretty insufferable MC (main character) most of the time.
- It's very "white cis lady is on a journey" for the first half of the book, and it's exhaustkng even for me as a white AFAB person who also had to learn and come to radical viewpoints.
- Maddie's love interests are consistently awful and it's frankly hard to read.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and War
Moderate: Rape
Minor: Sexual harassment
anxiousutopian'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
4.25
Graphic: Violence and Police brutality
Moderate: Alcoholism, Deadnaming, Death, Drug abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and War
howdyhoward's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The most impressive thing this book does is have political conversations in real time between characters with different political opinions. This is a great way to cover these topics and gives the reader different viewpoints to consider, though there is usually a character who the text clearly thinks is "right".
I also really liked the characters. Everyone felt really fleshed out and real, even the characters who were assholes or I didn't like I felt like I understood where they were coming from/why they are the way they are. Gestas is a gem I love him.
I'm not sure how the narrator Maddie reads to BIPOC. As a white person who has been on a journey of anti-racist awakening, I sometimes related to and found Maddie sympathetic. I liked her, and I think a lot of white people will see themselves in her, problematic though she is.
The way this book is told is really weird. It's told as a memoir retelling of the events 5 years after they happened. In part 1 it bounces back and forth between timelines 6 months apart, but it also reminds you that it's being told from the future. This whole device felt really clunky to me and every time we were reminded of this narrative device I kind of rolled my eyes.
The last 40 pages are where it really fell off for me. The story of the Free People's Village as a character ends pretty abruptly and the rest of the book is wrapped up in Maddie's personal life and a "where are they now" montage of all the rest of the characters. While Maddie's personal life was present throughout the book, it definitely took a backseat to what I though of as the main plot; the Free People's Village and it's legacy (although thinking about this now maybe that's not fair because part 1 is mostly about Maddie? idk it just felt like a really abrupt tone change)
The final pages are basically a manifesto about activism and why it is important to continue doing the work even though it can feel hopeless. Unlike the earlier conversations with multiple POVs this felt more like a force fed moral of the story with no room for the reader to use their own critical thinking. While this isn't unimportant, I think there could have been a better way to handle the ending.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death, Confinement, Genocide, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, War, and Classism
lettuce_read's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Deadnaming, Homophobia, and Rape
Minor: Transphobia
nolalee'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I will think about Sim Kern's The Free People's Village for the rest of my life. There is nothing I love more than a near-future grounded science fiction novel and the setting for this book is perfect. Based in the alternate timeline where Al Gore won the 2000 election, we follow a member from the fictional punk band Bunny Bloodlust as they navigate their identity, their past and their own current dystopian reality in America.
This book is challenging and beautiful. Desperately sad and hopeful. It is often a reflective and embarrassingly funny ride for anyone who has been active in a demonstration for change.
I feel this book is best read without too many details up front. Just experience it and join The Free People's Village.
Show quoted text
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Deadnaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Police brutality, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual assault and Suicidal thoughts
cnnr876'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
I think my reading experience suffered from a mismatch in expectations - I was expecting something very different from what I got, and I need to sit with that more.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Police brutality
Moderate: Death, Racism, Suicide attempt, and War
khaosinkspress's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
As much as I rolled my eyes at Maddie, I found it good that we had to be by her so that she could see the strong, different perspectives, and how this world definitely swung the hammer on her with her privilege. It was just great to see.
I didn't even finish the book before Instarted recommending it to others and now I REALLY want to let others know to read this!
Graphic: Police brutality
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault
A good amount of heavy topics at hand. Always remember to take care of yourself should things get heavy in your mind.aeons_v_atlas'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
4.75
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Deadnaming, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Vomit, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
caseythereader's review
- 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
4.25
- THE FREE PEOPLE'S VILLAGE is unlike any book I've ever read before. I never thought a book about the internal struggles of a group of activists would rivet me, but I absolutely could not put this down.
- This book is entirely from the POV of Maddie, a young white woman joining a Black-led movement to preserve a Black neighborhood. She doesn't always handle new information and situations perfectly (or even well), and she eventually has to reckon with her place in the movement and take accountability for actions she does or does not take. I think Kern struck the right balance here - Maddie is not a white savior, but she is given space to catch up on the history and politics she does not know (and even then, she is reprimanded for never bothering to learn these things!)
- Looking at this book from a wider perspective, I appreciated how Kern took the fork in the road that we often romanticize - Gore winning the 2000 election - and showed how even if there was massive movement on the climate, our society would still find a way to use those changes to enrich white people and push out poor and BIPOC people. Honestly, this book is one to give to white liberals who you wish would consider leftist ideas.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia and Suicide attempt
Minor: Deadnaming and Pregnancy