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nixkelley'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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Rape, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Death of parent, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Confinement, Homophobia, and Medical trauma
camam4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
bucketsjen'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: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Racism, Physical abuse, and Torture
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Homophobia, and Violence
ominousspectre's review against another edition
3.0
I love Rivers. The Deep and Sorrowland are both very dear to me in different ways. All of their style and intriguing ideas are here, but I think this would have been better as a novella? It felt endlessly long while also feeling like very little happens until the end. I did love the ending, and am obviously still a rabid follower of what this author will do next, but this debut just wasn't for me!
Graphic: Racism, Transphobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Sexual harassment
bootrat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Blood, Sexual assault, Death, Racism, and Medical content
wishbea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Racism, Suicide, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, Toxic friendship, Torture, and Rape
Moderate: Sexism, Homophobia, and Child abuse
benjspriggs'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
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Ableism, Death, Classism, Cursing, Gun violence, Abandonment, Bullying, Misogyny, Medical content, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
Moderate: Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Rape, Dysphoria, Suicide, Blood, Slavery, Toxic relationship, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Death of parent
orangerequired's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Minor: Sexual assault
wardenred's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Thank Heavens for their misplaced belief that only the most holy should be in charge of the direction of Matilda’s journey, as that belief led to a good many of them dying.
Looking back, I knew from the get go that this was a book about slavery set in the confines of an inescapable generation ship. I shouldn’t be at all surprised at how dark this got. Still, somehow, I was completely unprepared for the sheer brutality of this setting, and yet barely able to put the book down. Dark as fuck, yes, but so compelling.
I think a big part of the impact was the approach the author took to describing the traumatic events faced by the characters. Only rarely do the events themselves get the spotlight. For the most part, the focus is either on the build up to them, or the aftermath, or on occasion, something is described in a few sparing, detailless sentences that focus on the utter mundanity of things that shouldn’t be happening to people at all. Altogether it creates a truly chilling effect.
What I found the most striking were all the human connections forming in this utter darkness, all these people figuring out ways to be kind to each other, to learn, to find the strength for another day. Aster, Theo, Giselle, Melusine are all going to live rent-free in my head for a while now, I’m sure. Especially Aster. I loved her so much. She’s clearly some type of neurodivergent and her way of interacting with the world was so interesting to me. I’ve seen reviews saying she didn’t form deep connections because of her unemotional disposition, but I disagree with it a lot—I feel like the connections were very much there, just processed and expressed differently than is common for neurotypical individuals.
Despite all the feelings and thoughts the book made me experience, I do have some half-complaints, mostly about the pacing: I felt like the story took a long while to start going anywhere, other than just being a snapshot of an oppressive, claustrophobic dystopia, but then the ending was rushed. It’s a bit like the book started as a character/situation study and then decided to develop a stronger plot a tad too late. That lack of balance didn’t take away from the powerful delivery of the themes, but it did made the narrative harder to process.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicide, Slavery, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Death, Ableism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
hazelwood'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
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, Cursing, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence