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penofpossibilities'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? Yes
4.75
absolute fucking masterpiece
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Cannibalism, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Genocide, Grief, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Child abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Self harm, Stalking, and Torture
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Trafficking, Rape, Excrement, and Medical content
Minor: Suicide, Racial slurs, Transphobia, Infertility, Terminal illness, and Cancer
graphic: cultyuyine's review against another edition
4.75
Critique complète sur yuyine.be!
Graphic: Body horror, Religious bigotry, Racism, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Animal death, Blood, and Sexual content
Moderate: Murder, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Violence, Cannibalism, Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Drug use, Child abuse, and Rape
melliedm'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Cannibalism, Medical content, Self harm, Body horror, Cursing, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death, Slavery, Child abuse, Colonisation, Police brutality, Confinement, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, and Hate crime
parkerluck'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? It's complicated
4.0
I did find the 3rd part to be a little scattered/rushed. Too many side characters introduced that only seemed to exist as a vehicle for the author to pontificate (the hunters/motel women). The ideas weren't bad, but they felt out of place, especially since those themes could have been addressed a little more naturally when Vern was making her way through the world earlier. The denouement action also felt a little tacked on after we had spent so much time immersed in the rest of the story.
Overall, really good though! I'll definitely be thinking about this book for awhile, and it filled a gap I was looking for.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Slavery
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, Animal death, Body horror, Homophobia, Pregnancy, and Racism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Rape
A lot of warnings on this and it does deal with quite heavy subject matter. There are no graphic descriptions of rape/abuse, as all of this content happens off screen.just_one_more_paige'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Violence, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Racism, Toxic relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Animal death, Physical abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Rape, Slavery, and Police brutality
nodogsonthemoon'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Body horror, Blood, Pregnancy, Racism, Gore, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide
Moderate: Child death, Child abuse, Colonisation, Genocide, Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Gun violence, Homophobia, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
uranaishi'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, and Sexism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Kidnapping, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Infertility, Mass/school shootings, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Transphobia
becksusername'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Murder, Racism, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, and Self harm
skudiklier'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? Yes
4.75
Also, vague spoilers for the ending, but
Graphic: Animal death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Stalking, Sexism, Torture, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Violence, Homophobia, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation, Slavery, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Child death, Transphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide and Racial slurs
queer_bookwyrm'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
5.0
"I like the woods. In them, the possibilities seem endless. They are where wild things are, and I like to think wild always wins. In the woods, it doesn't matter that there is no patch of earth that has not known bone. Known blood. Known rot. It feeds from that. It grows the trees. The mushrooms. It turns sorrows into flowers."
Sorrowland by Rivers Solomon is another incredible standalone that I'm probably never going to shut up about. So glad I started my year off with a nonbinary author. Solomon gave us albino rep, disability rep, queer rep, and indigenous rep.
We follow Vern, a vision impaired black albino woman, who is fleeing a Black religious compound known mostly as Cainland. Cainland was a commune created by Black separatists, and shun anything from the white man's world. Vern has been married off to their reverend, and has chosen to give birth to her twins alone in the woods at 15.
Vern is such a badass! She birthed twins alone and then decided to live in the woods with them totally self sufficient. She stays there, until she starts experiencing weird changes in her body since leaving the commune. Now she goes on a mission to figure out her past and what is really happening at Cainland. Suffice it to say we have a religious cult, government conspiracy, and medical experimentation similar to Tuskegee.
Solomon always does a fantastic job of bringing characters to life and making them feel like real people. Even Vern's children, Howling and Feral, have full personalities. They are so cute and honestly the comic relief this heavy book needed. Gogo was a great love interest and gave Vern some depth and softness.
I loved the concept of mushrooms, spores, and mycelium being used in this! Mushrooms as a super power! I'm loving all the mushroom-y things in media. Star Trek: Discovery uses a mycelial network to travel, and The Houseplant by Jeremy Ray uses mycelium as a way for different plants to communicate with each other. Also, we get some serious spicy bits in here 🔥🥵.
We get a lot of themes about choice, freedom, and the much needed criticism of the US. The US has committed so many atrocities and allowed them to happen. The United States is an occupational force on Indigenous land, and this book acknowledges that. Solomon points out to us how someone can become an extremist or be radicalized from severe disenfranchisement.
I may even reread this book at some point, it was that good. Read this book. Read Rivers Solomon in general.
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Body horror, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Racism, Misogyny, and Homophobia
Minor: Sexual violence and Drug use