Reviews

Black Maria by Diana Wynne Jones

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cotomandra's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious

5.0

zngzag's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

berglie1's review against another edition

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4.0

Another fantastic book by my favorite fiction authors. Captures perfectly the anxiety of abuse and gaslighting in a manipulative family. If you're easily triggered by a toxic mother's, abusive and cold father's, an ignorant and dismissive community then be wary of the beginning of this book. This read gave me such anxiety at the beginning, the way Aunt Maria ignores, dismisses and diminishes everything that she doesn't like sounded too much like my own mother. So, if you can get through the first couple of chapters the mystery grows and you again can't put it down till it's all revealed. An immensely satisfying yet realistic end recognizing the loss of time you feel when you grow up in an abusive household.

bethilda's review against another edition

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adventurous dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

yushirou's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

cimorene1558's review against another edition

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3.0

Gosh, how extremely nasty Aunt Maria is! This seemed darker than I've come to expect of DWJ, probably because Black Maria is so evil and apparently doesn't realize it in the least.