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meganmalonefranklin's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Forced institutionalization, Alcohol, Death of parent, Blood, Misogyny, Torture, Lesbophobia, Gore, and Abandonment
hazelrosen's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Violence, and Misogyny
antimony's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
fourteen years ago, josephine’s mother disappeared. she inspired her own episode of unsolved mysteries, caused untold grief for her family, and was suspected time and time again as being a witch. in this world, women are closely monitored, because any behavior that’s even a bit strange could be a sign of witchcraft. but there is one last opportunity for jo to connect to her mother, through a strange clause in her will, and jo sets her regular life aside to follow it.
i did a horrible job describing this book im so sorry. i really liked the beginning and i really liked the end. the world was cool as well. but the middle dragged SOOO much. maybe it’s just because i read this as an ebook and maybe i feel negatively towards it because it took me a while to read. if i’d read it faster, in a physical copy, it probably would be 4 stars. c’est la vie. i do think it has good things to say but the middle part dragged so much and i didn’t care at all for that middle 50%. sad!
i did a horrible job describing this book im so sorry. i really liked the beginning and i really liked the end. the world was cool as well. but the middle dragged SOOO much. maybe it’s just because i read this as an ebook and maybe i feel negatively towards it because it took me a while to read. if i’d read it faster, in a physical copy, it probably would be 4 stars. c’est la vie. i do think it has good things to say but the middle part dragged so much and i didn’t care at all for that middle 50%. sad!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Misogyny, Death of parent, Racism, Violence, and Mental illness
Moderate: Police brutality and Homophobia
shereadytoread's review against another edition
reflective
tense
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
4.25
I'm not sure what I would categorize this as. It is really about a woman's journey to come to terms about the disappearance of her mother and accept or deny her place in an oppressive society. I really enjoyed this but it is definitely a slower paced, slice of life with fantasy or magic realism elements.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Racism
kristasorocks's review against another edition
dark
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Misogyny, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Torture
Minor: Gore
anxiousnachos's review against another edition
dark
3.0
Lakewood was one of my favourite horror books of 2021 and I had such high hopes for Megan Giddings follow up, The Women Could Fly. Instead, I found this merely okay. It lacked the atmosphere and tension of Lakewood, and I felt like I’ve seen so many iterations of this story - witches + gender dystopia, it is a genre that has so many books and is always going to be hard to push through and stand out and I’m just not sure this did.
What I did love was the relationship between Preston and Josephine. I thought it explored the power dynamics between them very well, the idea if love could ever develop in such a situation. I also thought the exploration of how race impacted on how witches were treated in the system was woven in well.
But sadly, not as much of fan as I was of Lakewood!
Content warnings: torture, racism, homophobia, suicidal ideation, depression, parental abandonment, forced marriage, sexism, misogyny
What I did love was the relationship between Preston and Josephine. I thought it explored the power dynamics between them very well, the idea if love could ever develop in such a situation. I also thought the exploration of how race impacted on how witches were treated in the system was woven in well.
But sadly, not as much of fan as I was of Lakewood!
Content warnings: torture, racism, homophobia, suicidal ideation, depression, parental abandonment, forced marriage, sexism, misogyny
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Racism, Homophobia, Sexism, and Misogyny
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, and Mental illness
editoryalizing's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Death of parent, Biphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Transphobia and Xenophobia
sarah2438's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
My feelings on this book fluctuated a lot as I read it. Not quite love/hate, closer to like/dislike. I like the concept and when it ended I was left feeling overall satisfied, but I don't feel like I really connected with any of the characters, and I didn't really enjoy the writing style. There were some moments where I felt very understood by the writer and highlighted a sentence. There were other moments where I had to reread a paragraph over and over thinking to myself, "What is even being conveyed here?" I think this all balances out to 3 stars, which is to say I thought it was just good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abandonment, Sexism, and Misogyny
Minor: Blood
bookdragon217's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
"From what she had seen in America, everything was simultaneously right and wrong. Like witches. We still thought of them as something taboo, criminal, bad, but there was a weird space where because of capitalism, they were still everywhere because they made money. It seemed to her that capitalism allowed anything to exist as long as someone could exploit it for money and power. And those things seemed to make room only for loneliness when it came to most people."
I really wanted to love The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings but it left me feeling underwhelmed. The book had strong writing and the world building in the first half was flawless. The social commentary was thought-provoking but was never explored deeply enough to add layers to the plot. It remained quiet when it should have been louder considering the level of horror being experienced by women and queer people in this dystopian world. The second half of the book felt rushed and almost like it switched genres leaving the climax and ending to feel anti-climactic.
I will say that the themes it touched on are what kept me going: mother-daughter relationships, abandonment, being biracial, intolerance, codified oppression of women and queerness, witchcraft and nature, patriarchy and misogyny, marriage and religion and gendered expectations. I do wish this was a series because this was definitely a good starting point for this world and would leave room for further exploration and character development. The bones of this story was quality and I would definitely read more from this author based on the writing style alone. Giddings did have a lot to say in this one. I do wish this one was longer so it could have packed a bigger punch because it had great potential. I would recommend this one for the gorgeous writing. Thanks to @amistadbooks for the gifted copy.
I really wanted to love The Women Could Fly by Megan Giddings but it left me feeling underwhelmed. The book had strong writing and the world building in the first half was flawless. The social commentary was thought-provoking but was never explored deeply enough to add layers to the plot. It remained quiet when it should have been louder considering the level of horror being experienced by women and queer people in this dystopian world. The second half of the book felt rushed and almost like it switched genres leaving the climax and ending to feel anti-climactic.
I will say that the themes it touched on are what kept me going: mother-daughter relationships, abandonment, being biracial, intolerance, codified oppression of women and queerness, witchcraft and nature, patriarchy and misogyny, marriage and religion and gendered expectations. I do wish this was a series because this was definitely a good starting point for this world and would leave room for further exploration and character development. The bones of this story was quality and I would definitely read more from this author based on the writing style alone. Giddings did have a lot to say in this one. I do wish this one was longer so it could have packed a bigger punch because it had great potential. I would recommend this one for the gorgeous writing. Thanks to @amistadbooks for the gifted copy.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abandonment, Biphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
baratheonbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture
Moderate: Misogyny and Racism