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kittykels'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Now with that out of the way, the story itself is really good and interesting, but needed some more refining. The last few hours felt very info-dumpy. The information was important, but it was a boring delivery for the most part.
The two best friends of the main character are a weird choice. I won't say too much to avoid spoilers, but they don't really make sense as a friend group and there's no reason to feel emotionally attached to them.
It's also hard to get behind Ikenna's motivations for her actions because we don't meet her grandfather on the page, we only have her memories. We're just told he's great and that's supposed to be enough to fuel her quest and for us to be interested in that quest.
I wish there was a little more depth to Ikenna. I don't dislike her as a character, but the only emotion we get from her is anger. Sometimes she's contemplative, but that usually just leads her to being angry again. There's nothing wrong with anger and she has very good reasons to be angry, but it's not enough for us to connect with her as a person and what she's going through. We should also have experienced her grief (especially her grief) and her joy and whatever else. Some of the major events were hard to care about from her perspective because we don't really get that emotional connection. I guess it could be argued that perhaps this is an intentional choice, and Ikenna is using anger to suppress her feelings of grief and any other emotion that could distract her from her goal. I could buy this for external purposes, but it's not convincing within her private thoughts.
I do look forward to the next book and really hope to see some improvements to the characters and our emotional attachments to them.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Blood, Cannibalism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, and War
Minor: Murder
erincrichter'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
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War
cheuksin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Death, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Torture, and War
Minor: Slavery, Vomit, and Death of parent
hollyk'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
5.0
Ikenna is an absolute badass. She's also flawed, and I like that she's hotheaded, impulsive, and doesn't back down. Her resilience is commendable and I think she's incredibly complex. She shows a lot of growth, but I also think a lot of other characters show growth as well, which I think can often get lost in other books. Several characters have some big changes and I am glad to see that growth.
The pacing is a little slow at first, but once the Trials start, they Start™. One of the twists is kind of obvious, but I think that the details of it are well executed and are shocking. I won't say more because spoilers. Speaking of, TW in spoilers:
I loved this book and I will not stop thinking about it for the foreseeable future
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual content and Xenophobia
Minor: Pregnancy
tinyjude'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? It's complicated
4.0
Even though some of the plots were predictable and there were inconsistencies with certain characters' behaviours (probably trying to rush a growth path), it was still an addicting read that tackles subtly interesting themes such as militarism propaganda, institutional racism, institutional sexism, duty vs rightness... with a compelling world-building (i especially loved the forest trial and getting to know these abominable creatures). I am eager to see where the story takes us next and if my theories about the next book are as correct the ones i made in this one.
Graphic: Animal death, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and War
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Slavery and Colonisation
headinthepages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
smallbluemars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Racism, Torture, Violence, Cannibalism, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
booksthatburn's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Racial slurs, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content
daradara'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
3.75
Overall I liked the story. The gore and violence reminded me of Red Rising which I loved. The book was lacking in the romance department that it tried to have and some parts didn’t seem overly necessary.
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
caroline_rk'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
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and War