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courtneyfalling's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This novel is definitely an emotional and visceral read, even on reread. I remembered the overarching plot in which Will watches then recreates how his girlfriend, Phoebe, became radicalized by a fundamentalist Christian group on the edge of their small college campus, while dealing with his own issues of socioeconomic status and access but other details didn't come back to me until I started reading again, sharp ones that stuck even more with me this time like Phoebe slowly watching her mother bleed out after the car accident she caused, or Will raping Phoebe and pushing her finally and fully into Jejah . It's a hard book because there's no moral clarity or even, really, trustworthy characters like, maybe Julian, but he's sometimes so unobservant and unsupportive about his friends' struggles, both Liesl's and Phoebe's, that I have a hard time even naming him . But I love the overall lyricality and hauntedness of how the novel is written and I feel like it's such an unusual and necessary take on trauma, identity, and radicalization among young college students.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Rape, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Abortion, and Forced institutionalization
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