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snazzy10101's review
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Grief, Chronic illness, Blood, Gaslighting, Terminal illness, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Misogyny, Gun violence, Hate crime, Confinement, Gore, Rape, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Racism
haileyhardcover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Gaslighting, Medical trauma, Confinement, Physical abuse, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racism, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Stalking, Death of parent, Death, Dementia, Gore, Blood, Cancer, Chronic illness, and Terminal illness
Minor: Alcohol and Trafficking
mudlizard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Ableism, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Confinement, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Racism
Moderate: Body horror, Torture, and Terminal illness
Minor: Cancer
ireadtoescape_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I was really drawn in by the plot as well.
But it all fell a little flat for me and I honestly struggled to finish it. There was no follow-through in most of these plot lines.
I also didn’t find myself connecting with Lena at all. I think her decisions and lack of suspicion for most of the book had me disconnecting from her. Especially in comparison to how her struggles at the beginning of the book really did pull at my empathy. She really was going through a lot and at first Lakewood made sense as a choice. Even when she had that eerie feeling it was mentioned once and that was that. But things just kept on going and going in this endless miasma of chaotic and alarming situations that I didn’t feel yielded much at all except to shock me as the reader. Nothing was resolved so it still makes no sense. The family history also didn’t go far enough to connect the dots.
I stuck it out but it wasn’t easy and I’m not feeling satisfied at all. Honestly, it was just an endless cycle of the experiments and their consequences to the people but to no specific end. I don’t know if it would have helped if the book was longer. But sadly, I couldn’t connect with it as much as I’d hoped.
Graphic: Blood, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Cancer
kather_doc'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Vomit, Confinement, Classism, Body horror, and Blood
killmoore_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
There were a few moments that could have been pure horror, but Lena's need to be detached and emotionally void dampened the effect, which was disappointing.
I'd recommend as a conversation starter for a book club, or someone looking for a truly interesting concept written as a "stuff happens" sandwich. It begins, stuff happens, then it ends.
Minor: Body horror, Racism, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Confinement, Blood, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Murder, and Terminal illness
spineofthesaurus's review
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Dysphoria, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Violence, Dementia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Racism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Torture, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Gaslighting, Stalking, Abandonment, Murder, Classism, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Cancer, Drug abuse, Grief, Terminal illness, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Slavery, Vomit, Addiction, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, and Trafficking
Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Pregnancy
jkpiowa'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
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Confinement, and Medical content
Moderate: Gaslighting, Racism, Cancer, Grief, Body horror, and Gun violence
seullywillikers's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This is an ambitious story that wonders about the lengths that the poor and oppressed will go through to protect and save their families, while exploring the history of government experimentation on Black and Indigenous people.
It would be hard to recommend this to someone. Not everyone will like it, enjoy it, or understand it. I'm not sure that I understand it, really. People who don't enjoy it still may find it profound. I'm glad that I've read it.
Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Body horror, Cancer, Medical content, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Torture, and Violence
bitterseason's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Dementia, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Stalking, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Sexual assault