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olorin85's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Gaslighting, Cancer, Colonisation, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Child death, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Racism
cassie7e's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Misogyny, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Infidelity, Medical content, and Racism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Xenophobia, Sexual content, and Homophobia
lottiegasp'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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
scifi_rat's review
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse, Alcohol, Confinement, Cursing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Ableism, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Death, and Infidelity
lilifane'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
I loved this. The setting on the Kamchatka peninsula with its nature and weather descriptions, the short insights into different girls' and women's lives, the common thread of two missing girls connecting every story/POV in one way or another, the other common thread of loss in general, the beautiful writing. I could go on like this forever. It's my favorite kind of novel.
I loved all chapters (except one, which had a trigger for me, so I just skimmed it) and obviously wished they were longer and had more answers. I got attached to so many characters that were mostly never mentioned again. But the way the book was constructed worked perfectly well for me, so I made up my own head canon for the details we never got. And then the last two chapters made an emotional wreck of me. So, in conclusion, this was a perfect book for me.
Graphic: Grief, Kidnapping, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Colonisation and Mental illness
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Misogyny, and Cancer
iellv's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Gripping from start to finish if you love knowing other people’s business. No, but seriously this is absolutely worth the read. But note that not all the stories converge directly—there is no grand ending, but the payoff was still utterly devastating. At the beginning, the book feels like watching the ground shift beneath your feet like oil on still water. And as you go through the rest of the book it feels like drowning, and then you’re overcome completely by a brief crash. And then, silence. Helpppppp im never reading this again probably. I’m currently recovering from a stomach flu as I write this and I gotta tell you the last chapters rlly aggravated my tummy lmao.
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, and Homophobia
talasterism'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
4.0
but overall, the book for me always, from the first chapter, was borderline uncomofrtable, walking the thin like of i dont wanna put this away and the implied / off-screen uncertainties make something unpleasant under my skin crawl. some chapters i hated, the one from the teacher's slice of life, nothing but itching discomfort. some i loved - the one with olya was my favourite, the realness of bitter happiness and the beauty of relishing in aloneness. (even if it all happened, olya wouldnt tell them how the colours changed here. she would share nothing. they would never find out they missed the most beautiful day of autumn, where olya, alone, had been in its very centre. how good olya would feel to keep this secret. how safe it was inside ehrself) with so many characters, i have expected a more satisfying tie-in with each other at the end of the story, and to a degree it did happen, but by far not as thrilling as desired. also a fun aspect were the chapters through the months. also the ending
that quick breath, promising to adore her / her body was cold with late-arrived fear; his mouth was hot / the desire that contninued to knot them together / the cold garbber her lungs in two fists / an ache that was native / sweet grit in her throat / in one minute she was lvoely, and in the next she was a ghost / she was a beast. this was her hallow; inisde her was white and smooth, a frozen landscape, solid bone; carrying their hearts in each other's chests; a little love, a little rage, a lot of ocean water / two or three hours, and after, an eternity- are some of the lines that could be straight up of a poem. and at good times, it what it felt like. a beautifully visual poem, a tragedy of fear, an ode to dwinlding hope.
Graphic: Medical trauma, Kidnapping, and Racism
Moderate: Confinement, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Cancer, and Child abuse
Minor: Animal death, Pedophilia, and Torture
nikexistiertnik'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
4.25
that being said, i really enjoyed the way it was written (and the german translation) and having so many different perspectives and characters is a concept i definitely dig.
the ending felt a little weird though
i loved learning more about the peninsula, its indigenous people, the culture and politics, which doesn't mean i liked everything i learned, obviously.
although i'm a little sad that we didn't get a lot of time with some of the characters, it was really interesting to read about so many different realities and how these people were (more or less) connected.
thousands of different triggers though, it was really hard to read sometimes.
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Homophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Minor: Infertility and Cancer
luananki'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
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Emotional abuse, and Racism
Moderate: Death and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism and Cancer
adelal'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: Kidnapping, Racism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer and Pedophilia