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haley49's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
This was such a journey. There were so many characters and pieces that were well-done. The ending made me emotional…
But otherwise I had a lot of issues. The pace was extremely slow and the writing style was 3rd person in a way that made the mc’s emotionally distant with the reader. The author spent more time with the Nazi side character’s perspectives than the mc’s and would abruptly cut off a scene at the emotional pinnacle. I almost dnfed so many times. Plus, along with not writing in the mc’s perspectives in depth, she also made so much fall into their lap. Everything was easy for them even when the author was trying to communicate that it wasn’t. Even when their identities are found out, the Nazis are somehow on their side??? </>spoiler<>
It didn’t make sense how much went according to their will to the point that it felt like the mc’s didn’t earn anything. The author said they did but we as readers saw nothing. Maybe Bridgette and maybe Chris are the only members who earned their honors. A lot of the Nazi side characters are even sympathetic, sometimes more than the mc’s. And the concentration camps are only ever mentioned as bad but there is no real efforts to explain why the good German characters are held separate from the rest of Germany’s actions???
But otherwise I had a lot of issues. The pace was extremely slow and the writing style was 3rd person in a way that made the mc’s emotionally distant with the reader. The author spent more time with the Nazi side character’s perspectives than the mc’s and would abruptly cut off a scene at the emotional pinnacle. I almost dnfed so many times. Plus, along with not writing in the mc’s perspectives in depth, she also made so much fall into their lap. Everything was easy for them even when the author was trying to communicate that it wasn’t.
It didn’t make sense how much went according to their will to the point that it felt like the mc’s didn’t earn anything. The author said they did but we as readers saw nothing. Maybe Bridgette and maybe Chris are the only members who earned their honors. A lot of the Nazi side characters are even sympathetic, sometimes more than the mc’s. And the concentration camps are only ever mentioned as bad but there is no real efforts to explain why the good German characters are held separate from the rest of Germany’s actions???
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Genocide, Grief, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Homophobia, Child abuse, Blood, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Death of parent, Gore, Sexual violence, Drug use, Infidelity, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Torture
Minor: Police brutality and Antisemitism
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