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aliciae08's review
challenging
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
When I started reading The Women Could Fly, I was expecting a remake of The Hand Maid’s Tale— only “make it Black”.
I’m really glad it wasn’t that though. I thought it was better and more terrifying. The magic was real, even though the ways to tell if a woman bore that magic were not. The way people act when they have all of the power was real, too. The way men know how to leverage that power, manipulate it so that the women are scared but wouldn’t be able to put their finger on why. It just worked.
There were plenty of things i didn’t like about this book. The pacing for the first two-thirds felt so slow, while the last third flew by. It almost felt like the author couldn’t wait to just finish it.
None of the characters are all that likable, but I wonder if a part of that was simply that we don’t get to know any of them. Even Josephine keeps us at an arms length. I don’t find Jo or Angie to be that funny either—even though their whole schtick is about using humor/comedy to feel alive.
Jo’s parents are disappointing in their own way, but I can probably forgive Tiana for leaving when you can see who she married—a man that couldn’t/wouldn’t stand up for his daughter probably did even less for his wife.
Still, this is a book where we can see:
- how racism and income disparity can impact the enforcement/policing of bodies that don’t/can’t conform
- How members of the same sex/gender-expression can also be culpable with oppression even if it goes against their own freedoms
- How power and control can make people behave to those without
While magic was the thing that was added and feared, we can translate that to be anything that society fears. In fact there were instances where the fear of magic went with:
- racist stereotypes that played on old tropes of white is might
- homosexuality and gender nonconformity being dangerous
Content Warnings
Moderate: Torture and Misogyny
Minor: Suicide attempt, Racism, and Homophobia
rcsreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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: Suicide attempt, Misogyny, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Bullying, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Homophobia, Drug use, Grief, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Violence, Religious bigotry, Sexism, and Torture
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