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talonsontypewriters's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Sexism, Abandonment, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Confinement, Child abuse, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Misogyny, and Grief
Moderate: Classism, Violence, Kidnapping, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Suicide, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, and Confinement
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Lesbophobia, Rape, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Pedophilia, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, and Car accident
beebalm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Infidelity, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Abandonment, Confinement, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: Sexual harassment
alyssard's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Violence, Torture, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Drug abuse and Alcoholism
brianna_moye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Abandonment
Moderate: Violence, Pregnancy, Suicide, Self harm, Physical abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body horror and Kidnapping
lastokes61'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? Yes
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Outing, Classism, Vomit, Self harm, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Body horror, Death, Miscarriage, Rape, Suicide, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Blood
crodgers90'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Body horror, Suicidal thoughts, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Classism and Child abuse
isleoflinds's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Torture, Racism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Sexism, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Outing, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual content, Abandonment, Addiction, Biphobia, Child death, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Miscarriage, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Confinement, and Domestic abuse
carbs666's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I felt like the book spends several chapters setting Frida up as an unreliable narrator by introducing uncertainty around her intentions on her Very Bad Day, and then just drops that in favour of having her be our portal into the fucked up environment of the school. I also felt like the book was commenting on so many things at once that it became background noise until something happened in the plot to briefly draw one thing into the spotlight.
I will say that this book does a very good job of illustrating the violence the state perpetuates against mothers, especially women of colour and low income women, and showing how cycles of trauma get continued. The books fantastic premise clearly show how state interventions into the lives of struggling families almost always make things worse, and the brief description of the different conditions at the school for fathers really highlight the way the states is unwilling to give mothers the benefit of the doubt but will do very little (if anything) to correct the behaviour of fathers.
I know we're not really supposed to like Frida but the whole thing with Tucker absolutely pissed me off. I'm also very conflicted about the portrayal of her final (doomed) act of desperation.
The book really shines in these pockets of emotional intensity. There are moments scattered throughout the book where a few sentences will just absolutely rock you, the moments where the cruelty of the exercise is laid bare and where Frida becomes someone you genuinely want to root for. I also liked how the book leveraged some spooky Gothic tropes to add atmosphere, but I would have liked to see more of it!
I did keep reading because I did want to find out what happened, so overall it's a pretty good book.
Graphic: Abandonment and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Body horror and Child abuse
Minor: Suicide
eve_reads'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? Yes
4.5
⁕ The sci-fi, dystopian bits don't really develop until about 25% into the book. It will feel like a contemporary piece at first, but give it time and things get wild.
⁕ Chan peels back all the layers of motherhood and explores how it is impacted by not only one's identities (including sexual orientation, culture, race, etc.), but also systemic sexism and white supremacy.
⁕ Moments that I thought were emotionally important to the story were completely skipped over and explained after the fact, such as Frida's final court ruling. It was frustrating to miss out on those key plot points that had been built up to throughout the story.
⁕ There are SO many characters of different ages and genders in this book. Catherine Ho's narration distinguishes each of them without detracting from the overall story
To read my full review, visit: https://evereads.online/
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Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Cursing, Forced institutionalization, Misogyny, Self harm, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Sexual harassment, Alcohol, Body horror, Classism, Confinement, Abandonment, Grief, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Gore, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Sexual content
leah_alexandra'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: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, and Self harm
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Body shaming, Infidelity, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Infertility, Misogyny, Cursing, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy