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cleot'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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcoholism, Gore, Murder, Chronic illness, Adult/minor relationship, Medical content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Stalking, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Racism, Child abuse, Child death, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Self harm, Torture, Animal death, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Rape, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Sexism, and Suicide
salemander's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Confinement, Fatphobia, Grief, Torture, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Addiction, Rape, Animal death, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Death, and Domestic abuse
lilifane'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
It's a story about Vern, who is raised in an isolated cult community. After she is forced to marry the reverend and gets pregnant, she flees the compound and tries to survive on her own.
It's a very raw and gritty story, with fantastical and horror elements. I really liked the writing, even though the graphic violence, gore, body horror and visceral descriptions were not my favorite thing. Although, they created a great atmosphere that fit the story.
I was surprised how mysterious and introspective the story was while still being a page turner full of action. Important themes like racism, misogyny, religion, identity, belonging, motherhood and queerness were very prevalent in the book. I especially enjoyed the found family trope and the survival aspect of the story (please be aware that animals are harmed and eaten, though) as well as the diversity. There are queer, intersex and disabled characters and the protagonist is all of it combined. Vern is a very flawed but also resilient character, I loved her and was rooting for her. The character development is amazing, as well as the relationships and their development. And I absolutely adored Howling and Feral!
I had some issues with parts of the plot and the pacing, but in the end everything fit so well together, and I was not expecting to like the ending as much as I did.
Graphic: Medical content, Violence, Self harm, Sexual content, Transphobia, Animal death, Confinement, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Child death, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Minor: Alcohol, Fire/Fire injury, Cancer, and Alcoholism
dustghosts'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: Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Body horror, Child death, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Murder, Torture, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Racism, Addiction, Cancer, Cannibalism, Car accident, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, Gun violence, and Suicide
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: cultparkerluck'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.lovememore_'s review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, and Transphobia
cemeterygay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Alcohol, Pedophilia, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Gun violence, Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, and Transphobia
Additional CW: Hallucinations, non-consensual drugging, forced sterilization, teen pregnancy, graphic childbirth, death of a child (and infant), drowning, poisoning, cult.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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual assault, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Transphobia
lolajh'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: Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Child death, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Murder, Trafficking, Violence, War, Stalking, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Misogyny