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salted07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Murder, Misogyny, Dysphoria, Drug use, Trafficking, Torture, Colonisation, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Confinement, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Addiction, Racism, Physical abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Torture
semiruralcoma08'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
4.75
Moderate: Classism, Alcohol, Torture, Colonisation, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, War, Trafficking, Death, and Addiction
enbae'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Trafficking, Sexism, Murder, Death, Classism, Violence, Alcohol, Vomit, and Torture
Moderate: Violence, Child death, Colonisation, Vomit, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Abandonment, Lesbophobia, Torture, and Trafficking
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, Racism, War, and Slavery
decembera's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Mind the content warnings. This was significantly more graphic than I expected from a YA book.
Graphic: Vomit, Blood, Child abuse, Trafficking, Physical abuse, Torture, Classism, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Gore, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Excrement, Rape, Outing, Abandonment, Drug use, Dysphoria, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
quiet_reader'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Colonisation, Addiction, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Dysphoria, War, Violence, Torture, Abandonment, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Sexual violence
xoemax'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
4.25
This book covers some amazing social topics, and in my opinion has some great LGBTQIA+ representation, intersectionality, and an exploration of gender diversity/fluidity. I appreciated the nuances and consideration with how Florian/Flora was written, with varying pronouns depending on context/viewpoint. I think it's important not to get caught up expecting characters to always have everything figured out from the start, especially when they themselves are coming to terms with and discovering their own identity. So for me this felt like a very wholesome, honest and positive exploration of how it feels to explore gender and sexuality as a young person.
The book is relatively fast paced, I will say. And from that I can see where the criticism of the story and characters feeling unresolved by the end comes from. I like to think I have an active imagination, so this I'm lucky wasn't too much of a deterrent for me. Part 2 of the book in particular with
Overall: an enjoyable and fun read, with the beginnings of some great world building, emotional, and featured themes I'd definitely like to read more of.
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Torture, Colonisation, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Trafficking, Blood, Death, Alcoholism, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Addiction, Rape, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Confinement, Slavery, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Child death, Mass/school shootings, Gore, and Homophobia
greywolfheir's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Rape
warlocksarecool21'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
3.25
and I also want to know what the fuck was up with the witches. like you can’t just say there’s witches and not explain them or where the magic comes from. I didn’t mind the magic of the sea being kind of mysterious because no one truly understands it anyways but I wish there was some foundational explanation of the world history and magic system bc the information we got was kind of vague.
I know it sounds like I hated this but there were some fun elements to this story but I was ultimately a little disappointed.
Moderate: Colonisation, Drug abuse, Murder, Animal cruelty, Trafficking, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Slavery, and Violence
Minor: Grief and Abandonment
ettegoom'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? No
4.0
The author laid the whole: colonialism is bad, and gender diversity should be normal on pretty thickly. I still enjoyed it though, and found myself rooting for several of the characters.
A nice book for teens.
Graphic: Alcohol, Bullying, Child abuse, Colonisation, Death, Animal death, Addiction, Kidnapping, Trafficking, Classism, Alcoholism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, and Animal cruelty
Minor: Rape
discarded_dust_jacket's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
One of my biggest pet peeves when it comes to YA fantasy in particular, is when I can tell that an author is patronizing or talking down to their reader. I think sometimes the distinction between “accessible” and “clumsily over-simplified” can get muddy.
I notice it in particular when I read an author who’s known for their adult books, but who writes YA every now and then. The writing in the YA book will be so obviously adjusted to what, presumably, the author believes will be more “palatable” to a younger audience. I don’t think that’s always being fair to young readers. There’s obviously nuance here, but I think it can seem to communicate a lack of faith in their ability to understand complexity, dark themes, or challenging language.
This book was a pleasant surprise in that regard. I didn’t feel condescended to as I read, but it was still distinctly easy to read. The narrative flowed smoothly and kept my attention. The characters were easy to care about (I appreciated the expanded points of view as the story went on), and the plot didn’t shy away from dark or heavy material (like the impacts of colonialism, the ethics of survival at all costs, etc).
I also loved that the magic system in this book takes the shape of stories and storytelling; I thought that was really beautiful and unique.
There’s quite a few loose threads left dangling at the end of this book, which I hope get picked up in the forthcoming sequel!
Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Death, Colonisation, Child death, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Murder and Gun violence
Minor: Homophobia, Torture, Vomit, Gore, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Death of parent