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solenodon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Mental illness, Self harm, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcohol
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abortion, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
Minor: Child death and Body shaming
haylzno'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? No
4.25
Taking place on a multilevel spaceship, traveling through space attempting to find a habitable planet, it's passengers are quite literally divided by levels of "class".
We follow Aster who lives in the lower deck "Tarlands" of the Matilda, apart of a community made up of POC, that is abused and oppressed by the "upper deckers".
In the wake of the ship leaders death, Matilda struggles to uncover the truth about her own mothers death and the seemingly inconspicuous connections between the two.
This novel gave me very much Octavia Butler vibes. The characters were very unlovable but in a tangible, realistic way. I found myself only being able to consume a few chapters at a time to be able to soak it all in.
The ending left me SO unsatisfied, but again, in a way that I just can't stop thinking about. Was it a neat and tidy ending? Absolutely not. But there's something...fitting about that.
Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Classism, Confinement, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Rape, Mental illness, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Medical content, Abortion, and Toxic friendship
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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Mental illness, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Confinement, Classism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Gore, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Incest, and Fire/Fire injury
mazomazli'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
I would like to inform anyone who has or will compare this to the Handmaid’s Tale that you are incorrect for doing so. I highly recommend any form of nonfiction on the realities of people who were enslaved in the US so you understand that the things read in this book happened often to real people. I would also say it pulls from actual history similarly like the Poppy War trilogy where that author pulled accounts from survivors of the Rape of Nanjing to put directly in. I also might say that like the Poppy War, the real history was toned down a little meaning the events in this book are still not as cruel as the real worlds.
Here’s a long and incomplete list of topics addressed throughout the book: being autistic in a world that is quick to do violence to you and trying to navigate it, what people do to survive constant sexual assault and rape, child on child sexual abuse after both experiencing and witnessing so much, physical abuse and violence at every turn, the stories told amongst those who are surviving to hold each other up, a character who is white passing and trying to help those oppressed, police brutality (literally overseers are the origins of cops), and a character with psychosis/paranoia (perhaps schizophrenia) with lots of self harm.
There are so many things I think of between the way Aster tries to always be prepared for when violence comes for her, how Giselle was both vibrant and subdued and so complicated, and the way Theo presents himself and how his uncle likely had abused him as a child and he does not remember. I feel so much for Giselle. It is very uncommon to see a severely mentally ill character depicted so realistically - at the end of the day she wasn’t the big scary danger to every one else. The majority of the violence she did was against herself or objects.
This is definitely a check if you’re in the headspace before you try this, but I think it’s worth it.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Police brutality, and Rape
Moderate: Transphobia, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Homophobia
vulcanzaddy'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: Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Torture
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Confinement, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Cursing and Lesbophobia
sarahconailte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Police brutality, Violence, Transphobia, and Slavery
Minor: Torture and Confinement
bookreadingelf'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
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Violence, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Rape
tenten's review against another edition
aside from that, i just can't connect with it like i feel myself not caring. i read some reviews that point out how wild it is that Aster and other lowdeckers insult, physically attack, and disrespect upperdeckers and guards without much real consequence, which makes the stakes seem lower than they're presented to be.
i might pick it up again because Rivers Solomon won me over with their story, "Whose Heart I Long to Stop with the Click of a Revolver," but i'm dropping it for now
Graphic: Slavery, Sexual assault, and Racism
Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent, Homophobia, Self harm, Infertility, and Suicide
marselise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, and Slavery