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divafern's review against another edition
Absolutely maudlin. Without going too far into it, it tries to do too much. The writing is interesting in some places and yet liberally peppered with laughably bad metaphors and tired stereotypes. Just see the list of content warnings to get a feel for the book.
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Outing, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcoholism, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This is the story of a man in an Appalachian town in Ohio printing an open invitation for the devil to come visit him and what happened when the devil accepted. You may (or may not) be surprised to find out that rather than the devil bringing evil with him, he simply exposed the evil that was already deeply rooted in that town. This is a literary novel with absolutely beautiful writing and characters who refuse to stay on the page. They absolutely come to life along with the sweltering heat in this novel, and they will most certainly burrow a place into your heart. I know they did for me. McDaniels is an amazing writer with a gift for telling eternal stories about small town people and the big world truths they live. She has quickly become an all-time favorite author of mine.
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
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