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phantasmaboo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have some pretty mixed feelings about this book. First and foremost, there are serious trigger warnings for multiple, graphic sexual assaults (of minors!) throughout the novel as well as incest and domestic abuse. All this leads to a very dark plot that is very likely not something for everyone, so be careful while reading.
Breaking down my feelings, I thought the following:
The Setting
I enjoyed the setting of a somewhat remote area near a city, but not quite part of it. I thought that the small-town feel gave the story a dark atmosphere as well as built up tension regarding who is currently doing what to and with who.
The Plot
I cannot figure out why the author included the first 1/3 of the book at all. This portion describes Geo's time behind bars, but doesn't really add much to the story that could not have been handled had it not been there at all. The majority of the plot lines that begin in this area are not resolved or are resolved quickly with little buy in. Honestly, by the end it felt more like the author wanted us to see Geo traumatized in this setting before moving her home, so that the trauma could aid in "character development" (more on that under characters).
For the overall plot, I thought that it was okay. I would say that the ending is indeed a surprise, but only because the threads are not laid out for the ending to happen until the very last chapters. The ending itself felt pretty anti-climactic, however, and it left me scratching my head as to what the point of this story was. It was definitely more of a "tell" experience than a "show" experience.
The Characters
The characters are generally well-developed, but I do think that it fell into the realm of stereotypes at times. For example, nearly all the female characters are shaped through their traumas, typically sexual abuse, rape, drug use, domestic violence, abandonment, etc. By the end, I don't think there was one woman who was not defined by one of those things. Geo herself is shaped by them. Even one male character is completely defined by his traumas. These events become their entire personalities and character arcs. I felt like there was very little character building outside of the traumatic, and at some points it just felt like trauma porn.
Another thing that didn't sit right with me was the author's depiction of victims of domestic violence, assault, and rape. It seems that she paints these individuals in negative light, casting them as manipulative and not to be trusted. I got the feeling that Hillier felt that she was being dark and edgy in these portrayals, but ultimately just created stereotypical, surface-like characters that fail to develop.
As far as diversity goes, sure, the characters were diverse, but very little is done with their diversity other than point it out. The main character is mixed race, but other than telling us that, there is very little influence on the plot. With the exception of the jail portion, there is no talk that I can remember about how race could have influenced the events of the book.
Overall
Like I said, I didn't dislike this book, but I wouldn't put it on the top of my list either. I personally wouldn't want to read it again because of the graphic sexual assaults of minors and adults portrayed and how those individuals are treated in the writing.
Graphic: Sexual content, Death, Child abuse, Murder, Rape, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Child death and Child abuse
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Drug abuse, and Infertility
cathuluu'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Gore, Rape, Violence, Child death, and Confinement
Moderate: Infertility, Vomit, Fatphobia, Grief, and Pregnancy
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, and Pedophilia
cady_sass'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Rape, Vomit, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Child death, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Cursing, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Car accident, Pedophilia, and Pregnancy
jnl00700's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Pedophilia, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Death, Confinement, Child death, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Rape, and Sexual violence
ashleykidwell'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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
readingwithtrey'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
4.5
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Death, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Rape, Grief, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping
Minor: Vomit, Outing, Miscarriage, Infertility, Infidelity, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Pedophilia
meeklovestoread'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
4.5
Graphic: Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Physical abuse, Body shaming, Death of parent, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing and Cancer
maryrhg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Maybe I’m the weird one but I seriously have no idea why people rate this book so highly. There is so many rape scenes in this book most of which seem to be there just to make the reader uncomfortable and don’t really ad anything to the story? (If you know, you know I’m talking about the last one). The ending is rushed, the romance is rushed and unbelievable. You could remove kai from the story and it would have basically been exactly the same. I didn’t find it thrilling or suspenseful at all just icky to read. If you’re looking for something to disturb you this might work for you, but for me this was definitely not it.
Graphic: Violence, Child death, Death, Sexual content, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Cancer, Child abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Vomit, and Body shaming
girlwithpaint's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Rape and Murder
Minor: Pedophilia and Incest
toofondofbooks_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
WARNING: HELLA SPOILERS AHEAD
I did have issues with this one though, which what holds me back from giving it a perfect rating. I don't know if this is something that runs through all of JH's work, but there was so much fatphobia. Now, if the characters were just fatphobic, that would be one thing. Characters aren't perfect and they shouldn't be. Things like Angela saying "your thighs are getting fat" did not bother me because that felt like something that character would say - she's a teenage girl in the year 2000 when diet culture is thriving, of course she would say that. What I had a problem with was when characters in the narrative were endlessly described as these fat, disgusting creatures. There is a character in the beginning of the book, Bernadette/Bernie who is in prison with Georgina (Geo) our protagonist, she is framed as an antagonist and does undeniably terrible things to Geo, including literally raping her, and instead of her horrible traits being focused on...the narrative chooses to focus on how fat the character is. It's....gross. It was really distracting for me.
This leads me into my next problem - queer characters or characters who might be queer are framed in such a negative light throughout this whole book. There is Bernie, who is predatory and a prison rapist (which is not to say that lgbt+ people can't be rapists, but this isn't the kind of representation I want to see, there are enough people calling this community rapists, thanks). There is also another character who goes to high school with Geo and Angela who is a football player. I can't remember his name, but anyway, he might be gay, and in order to keep himself from being suspected as gay, he says really disgusting stuff about having sex with Angela after she disappears, framing the one gay character who could possibly have a decent arc into a pretty terrible person...?
So, while I did really enjoy this, I believe that I have valid criticisms here and I really hope that these things aren't a common theme throughout JH's work because I really do like her writing. I'll give her another chance.
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Body horror, Fatphobia, Murder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Violence, Rape, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Blood, Alcohol, Misogyny, Sexual content, Cancer, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Gun violence
Moderate: Racism and Classism