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jmiles758'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: Self harm, Toxic relationship, Racism, Domestic abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Violence, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, and Child abuse
runningonwords415'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: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Grief and Mental illness
readingwithgoose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gaslighting, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
Minor: Racism
queenkath32's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Sexism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
megansoetaert'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: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
shakira19'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
Moderate: Gaslighting, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
letsgolesbians's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Islamophobia, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Colonisation, and Physical abuse
mandi_lea'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
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Racism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, and Grief
breannajanay'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
3.25
I give this book 3.25 stars out of 5 with much hesitancy, so I want to begin with the good -- this book knows exactly how to depict what it is like to be held hostage by your own emotions, your self-doubt, and your visceral fear of returning to the past. This book explores the nature of forgiveness,
This book is a beautiful exploration of the literary "haunt". Traumas and lingering questions manifest in the forms of ghosts from the past, and lessons are learned through memories filled with people who do not walk within the physical vicinity of the story. Most of the cast of characters that hold Yara suffocatingly in place we do not meet face-to-face. And yet their affect is strong and palpable and threatening to Yara's conception of the self.
Something else that I adored about this book is the thing after which it is titled: The Evil Eye. Intergenerational trauma, as we know, is often attributed to households of color in which ancestors have had to live through and experience unspeakable manners of living. The internalized trauma adopted in those experiences is passed down upon child upon child upon child. Like a curse. What I mean to say is the use of spirituality here is supremely genius, as the evil eye necklace serves as a physical reminder to the reader that there is some unfinished business. And the way Yara subconsciously presses her fingers, and therefore herself, into it is also a representation of how we may not know it but we carry the small details of our histories as if they were permanent accessories.
Now. I give this book 3.25 stars because some things didn't sit right with me, no matter how much I tried to rationalize them. Yara's conflict begins with
I think this manifests in the various cultural disconnects that happen between Yara and Silas, and the many times Silas apologizes for his ignorance toward Yara's experiences as she details them to him. Apologizing for the things he did not know or did not mean to imply. It felt as though the author was accounting for something there. Or... that could be me projecting.
Perhaps my gripe is personal, in that most popular forms of media depict POC growth and mentorship occurring only in proximity to whiteness/white spaces as a requirement. The real estate for diverse stories happening outside of the scrutiny of whiteness is already so small and I wish we could have seen what surely is true, that Yara is but one of many women who blaze new trails, often walking side-by-side and in solidarity.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Child abuse
mybestfriendisabook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse and Sexism
Minor: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent