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orion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Murder, Lesbophobia, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Torture, Transphobia, Medical content, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cursing and Death of parent
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I really wish I could handle finishing this, but I just can't.
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
nagev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Homophobia, Racism, Violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Alcohol
rosalind's review against another edition
- 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? No
2.5
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Genocide, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, and Classism
Moderate: Chronic illness, Confinement, Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Torture, Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and War
sofipitch'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
4.75
Graphic: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Abortion, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Classism
solenodon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Excrement, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol
haylzno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Taking place on a multilevel spaceship, traveling through space attempting to find a habitable planet, it's passengers are quite literally divided by levels of "class".
We follow Aster who lives in the lower deck "Tarlands" of the Matilda, apart of a community made up of POC, that is abused and oppressed by the "upper deckers".
In the wake of the ship leaders death, Matilda struggles to uncover the truth about her own mothers death and the seemingly inconspicuous connections between the two.
This novel gave me very much Octavia Butler vibes. The characters were very unlovable but in a tangible, realistic way. I found myself only being able to consume a few chapters at a time to be able to soak it all in.
The ending left me SO unsatisfied, but again, in a way that I just can't stop thinking about. Was it a neat and tidy ending? Absolutely not. But there's something...fitting about that.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Medical content, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
jessthanthree'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: Child death, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Incest, Pedophilia, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury
mazomazli'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
I would like to inform anyone who has or will compare this to the Handmaid’s Tale that you are incorrect for doing so. I highly recommend any form of nonfiction on the realities of people who were enslaved in the US so you understand that the things read in this book happened often to real people. I would also say it pulls from actual history similarly like the Poppy War trilogy where that author pulled accounts from survivors of the Rape of Nanjing to put directly in. I also might say that like the Poppy War, the real history was toned down a little meaning the events in this book are still not as cruel as the real worlds.
Here’s a long and incomplete list of topics addressed throughout the book: being autistic in a world that is quick to do violence to you and trying to navigate it, what people do to survive constant sexual assault and rape, child on child sexual abuse after both experiencing and witnessing so much, physical abuse and violence at every turn, the stories told amongst those who are surviving to hold each other up, a character who is white passing and trying to help those oppressed, police brutality (literally overseers are the origins of cops), and a character with psychosis/paranoia (perhaps schizophrenia) with lots of self harm.
There are so many things I think of between the way Aster tries to always be prepared for when violence comes for her, how Giselle was both vibrant and subdued and so complicated, and the way Theo presents himself and how his uncle likely had abused him as a child and he does not remember. I feel so much for Giselle. It is very uncommon to see a severely mentally ill character depicted so realistically - at the end of the day she wasn’t the big scary danger to every one else. The majority of the violence she did was against herself or objects.
This is definitely a check if you’re in the headspace before you try this, but I think it’s worth it.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Child abuse, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis