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mauvesoul's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Lesbophobia
patchy_at_best's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Lesbophobia
phantomgecko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
There were a lot of characters, but even the shortlived ones had enough personality for all of them to be distinct characters. Some were meant to likable, others unlikable, but others still were open to either option. Or neither.
There were a lot of perspective shifts, which usually bothers me (especially multiple shifts within a single scene), but it fed the fast pace of the book. It also helped give dimension to so many people.
Mack's super upsetting backstory was an interesting facet of the story. Of all the motivations in the story, hers was the wildest to me. It made perfect sense, but woof. Like, you have "I am tired of being a door-to-door salesman" and even "I was banished from my polygamist cult" which feel solid and normal (ish). Then Mack's like, "Yeah hiding is kinda my thing (tm) because
I resonated with the social commentary so I didn't mind it. For example, the book divided them into two groups: losers and hustlers, but really, they were all unhappy and unsuccessful. A fun reminder that we have more in common than we think. And then the extensive emphasis on what is or isn't hard work and what people do or don't deserve... (For real, multiple times, my husband has started a conversation this morning about current events, and I was like, "So I just read this book..."...)
Also, a faithful movie adaptation would be incredible.
A lot lot lot of language though, so that's not my favorite.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Death, Suicide, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Child abuse and Lesbophobia
Gratuitous f-wordvaguely_pink'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and War
a_libraryghost's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Despite what the reader ratings suggest, this book absolutely is not diverse.
Unlike some others I actually don’t mind the ending (except for my thoughts above)
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism and Classism
shannananahey's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Misogyny, Grief, Colonisation, and Classism
ecn'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
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Lesbophobia, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
tarynlannister'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
4.0
I'm really not a horror fan usually, but my book club picked this and I'll be the first to tell you I devoured it in a day. I was really pleasantly surprised by so much about it. Yes, it's horror, people are killed off, but once the story really picked up deaths weren't just gratuitous for the horror element. Most of the fear came from the unknown, not excessive descriptions of gore. So if you're like me you may enjoy it, but it may not necessarily be for more hardcore horror fans.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Animal death and Racism
A side character who is cruel and unsympathetic is severely injured by another character and does not die immediately. There are descriptions of blood, gore, and suffering, which may be disturbing. A main character considers a mercy killing but does not do it. A character is traumatized by the murder of her family, including her child sister. She occasionally flashes back to this, and descriptions of the event are creepy and sad but not very graphic. A character was raised in a cult, and occasionally briefly discusses it.brindolyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Classism
bookishgoob's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism