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3.57 AVERAGE
3.57 AVERAGE
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Setting: Maine
Rep: queer protagonist & multiple queer side characters
This is a darker little book than I expected, though I should've figured from the comparison to The Secret History! I totally understand the comparison, it's as though The Secret History was set in a boarding school as opposed to college and centred on a confused sapphic girl who doesn't know what's good for her, who gets tangled up in a messy group of choir singers. In only 300 pages (and it's a pretty quick read, too), Burton paints a graphic picture of obsession and longing and a glimmer of religious trauma.
Rep: queer protagonist & multiple queer side characters
This is a darker little book than I expected, though I should've figured from the comparison to The Secret History! I totally understand the comparison, it's as though The Secret History was set in a boarding school as opposed to college and centred on a confused sapphic girl who doesn't know what's good for her, who gets tangled up in a messy group of choir singers. In only 300 pages (and it's a pretty quick read, too), Burton paints a graphic picture of obsession and longing and a glimmer of religious trauma.
dark
reflective
challenging
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
i was engaged the entire time & I hated everyone. would recommend.
2.5 stars
Whilst I found this book deeply engrossing, atmospheric and obsessive, I felt it was a little heavy handed with the messaging. It also felt like it was missing a certain something, in part because it was set in a high school. An older cast of characters would have really benefitted the story.
Whilst I found this book deeply engrossing, atmospheric and obsessive, I felt it was a little heavy handed with the messaging. It also felt like it was missing a certain something, in part because it was set in a high school. An older cast of characters would have really benefitted the story.
This is one of the most unique books I’ve ever read. It’s hard to review - enjoying it requires a suspension of disbelief that is “transcendent” (to quote an overused term in this book) and almost religious in nature.
Set at a boarding school in New England, The World Cannot Give is a heavily character-driven, mystical, powerful exploration of queer desire and interpersonal power amidst teenagers. Protagonist Laura is a malleable “yes-man” who falls under the spell of mysterious & controlling upperclassman Virginia. Laura is pulled in deeper an deeper as Virginia’s love remains ever-elusive.
As someone who has actually taught high schoolers, it’s completely infeasible that students would have as much power, freedom, and influence as they do in this book. It would’ve made much more sense as a novel set in college. Nevertheless, it pulled me in - particularly Laura’s sense of longing and almost-fatalism in her pursuit of Virginia’s devotion.
I kept thinking about this book long after I finished it. A solid four stars.
Set at a boarding school in New England, The World Cannot Give is a heavily character-driven, mystical, powerful exploration of queer desire and interpersonal power amidst teenagers. Protagonist Laura is a malleable “yes-man” who falls under the spell of mysterious & controlling upperclassman Virginia. Laura is pulled in deeper an deeper as Virginia’s love remains ever-elusive.
As someone who has actually taught high schoolers, it’s completely infeasible that students would have as much power, freedom, and influence as they do in this book. It would’ve made much more sense as a novel set in college. Nevertheless, it pulled me in - particularly Laura’s sense of longing and almost-fatalism in her pursuit of Virginia’s devotion.
I kept thinking about this book long after I finished it. A solid four stars.
I loved Social Creature but this didn't quite hit the mark for me, I just couldn't buy into Virginia being that hot and charismatic.
Let me never hear the following words again: sclerotic and world historical.
I read Social Creatures and loved it, so I was optimistic about this one. But this was much less effectively queer, much less effectively toxic, and much less compelling. It felt pretentious in an almost parody-ish way, rather than the kind of pretentious you want in dark academia.