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prosenheim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, War, Domestic abuse, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Deportation, Gore, Child abuse, Addiction, and Abandonment
Minor: Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Lesbophobia, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Suicide
marioosa517's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Classism, Blood, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Medical content, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, War, and Gun violence
Minor: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Cursing
leannanecdote's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Rape, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, War, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Trafficking, and Vomit
traa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Death, Violence, War, Physical abuse, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Classism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Child death, Abandonment, Child abuse, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Vomit
melodei3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Grief, Torture, Addiction, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
taliahsbookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The premise, the plot, the characters, all of it fits together in this super intricate way. It's easy to follow but it's not easy to anticipate what's coming next.
I can't pinpoint the exact moment when I was reading that I went "Oh, this is what good writing is," but I can tell you I knew it. The whole time, I was engaged with the plot, I was invested in the characters and their journey, and I was intrigued by all of the challenges. Every time I put it down to take a break or go for a walk or get a snack, I couldn't stop thinking about it. To me, that's a sign of good book. And this? This was definitely a good book.
Although there is some worldbuilding that I felt could have been expanded to make this a duology, Micaiah Johnson crafted a world that feels eerily realistic and having a simple standalone definitely worked out.
While this does contain a romance, it's not the main plot of the book, and only serves to further character development of everyone involved. That being said, though, I was invested in the romance and was rooting for it to work
I will let you know: This isn't a YA novel. Although it doesn't contain any graphic scenes, the messaging and the divide between good and evil are incredibly subtle, though very power. I think younger readers could pick this up and would absolutely enjoy it, but marketing it as anything other than an adult sci-fi would be disingenuous to Micaiah Johnson's writing.
Favorite quotes:
"Even worthless things can become valuable once they become rare."(5)
"Death can be senseless, but life never is."(191)
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Physical abuse
internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
seanml's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Death, Murder, Drug use, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, and Homophobia