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lsbonnie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Death, Pedophilia, and Misogyny
Minor: Gun violence, Miscarriage, Police brutality, and Murder
aliciawylde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
lisa00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Mass/school shootings, Child death, Murder, War, and Gun violence
rachael_jo'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Sexism
Moderate: Sexual content and Sexual assault
frogggirl2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This book is a beautiful cultural artifact. While set in present day, because this culture is what we would call less advanced, there is near constant misogyny (things like saying a woman is useless if she can't have children, women can't work or remarry when widowed, etc.) throughout. Some demeaning discussions of gender presentation (when they visit the city they mockingly say they can't figure out what gender prople are because women wear pants and men have long hair, etc.) are sprinkled throughout. The culmination of all this sexism is the rape and forced impregnation of a woman who confesses rape is her worst fear, not by enemies but by her own community.
I thought this book was beautifully written with resonant themes and beautiful characterizations of relationships and community, but, on balance I cant say it was worth it to battle through this unending, disgusting, unquestioned misogyny and rape. Ultimately, the men in this community do to the women of this community what everyone else (government, corporations and colonizers) does to them (and so the women are doubly abused). I don't think this is what the book meant for me to take from it, but this is what I got out of it nonetheless.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Incest, Gun violence, Death of parent, Chronic illness, Violence, Sexism, Police brutality, Murder, Child death, Death, Colonisation, Kidnapping, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
kthickett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Grief, Mass/school shootings, Sexual assault, Colonisation, Rape, and Gun violence
mariekeroos's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Death, Child death, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
flightlessfinch'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Child death, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Incest
nfoutty'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Police brutality, Colonisation, Grief, Murder, Child death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, War, and Violence
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Infertility, Sexual content, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Incest, Torture, Trafficking, Death of parent, Classism, Kidnapping, and Homophobia
Minor: Alcohol and Abandonment
noahsingh's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? N/A
4.0
The reason this was only four rather than five stars for me is this (spoilers ahead and tw for rape/sexual assault):
1. What was the need to write the twins doing that to Thula? Seriously. It doesn't help the cause if any real way, she doesn't even end up realizing she's pregnant or having the child, she isn't even aware anything happened to her. Instead we just get the off-screen sexual assault of the main character with the complicity of some of the people she trusts most. Is the point just that women suffer from the short-sightedness of misogynistic men? If so, that was already made clear throughout the rest of the book. It was just upsetting for no reason in my opinion.
2. By the end of the book you're stuck with only Juba's perspective and the children who didn't rebel. I understand that the ending was realistic in terms, things like this often don't get fixed. What I didn't understand was the need to finish the book with the perspectives of those who conform to, and even benefit from, the oppression of people who they were once like. There was just, a bit too much sympathy for the oppressors in this book, I mean, what was the need for the Leader to have a tragic backstory as well? I'm sure lots of people who participate/benefit from oppression had some tragedy in their past, that doesn't make being complicit in the deaths of dozens of children okay? People do desperate things in desperate situations, sure, but why not focus more on solidarity? On potentially building resistance with the labourers at the oil pipes, rather than against them? I suppose my issue with this book is that despite the fact that I loved 90 percent of it, those last 40 or so pages of the book really lets it down. There's also quite a bit of skipping key/plot-important moments in the novel while instead lingering in the moments of depression/fear/terror. Which wouldn't be a problem if there was any payoff at the end, even if that had just been seeing the Five/Thula fight back against the soldiers, rather than hearing about it all third hand. Yes its brilliantly written, but the ultimate perspective jumps into Juba and the other Children, means that the final message of the book seems to be one of assimilation into systems of western/capitalism/neocolonial oppression. It lets down the rest of the book.
Graphic: Gun violence, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Rape, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Mass/school shootings, Infertility, Grief, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Classism
Minor: Animal death