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aseel_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, Child death, Violence, Murder, Torture, Grief, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
dr_kat'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? No
3.75
So in my MFA program I was told over and over to do horrible things to my most likeable characters. I was told this makes great fiction and the reader wants it. Like a safe kind of schadenfreude where it’s just fiction so no one is really hurt. I tho k this is BS advice, though. Yes, testing a person to see how they react will often provide interesting, maybe even entertaining results. But like the “bonus short story” included in my copy of Abandon, at what cost to even a vicarious observer? Yeah, no, no thanks. A story needs complications but I don’t think it needs to be the worst of human nature for nearly the entire cast of characters, which is what this story has. Sorry, I’m not really giving spoilers; just my personal thoughts on why this book disappointed me and troubled me. So I read Lacalle’s Lone Women and it had a similar vibe, similar place and time, but no real cannibals, I guess. That left me with a more uplifted feeling even though it was still tragic. It was creepy and mysterious but not to the point of extreme torture. And there were redeemable people and lots of Justice. I could have used some of that in this novel.
But look, that’s just me. If you liked gold mining westerns and ghosts you may love this. I hope so.
Graphic: Cannibalism
Moderate: Murder, Torture, and Violence
caity_h's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood and Violence
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Child abuse and Trafficking
dckathleen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Child death, and Domestic abuse
shelfofunread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Gore, Cursing, Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Suicide, Blood, and Death
Moderate: Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Animal death, and Mental illness
Minor: Miscarriage and Misogyny
mrsfishreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Confinement, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Child death, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Addiction, Suicide attempt, Stalking, Death, Confinement, Infidelity, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Cannibalism, Grief, Child abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Blood, Animal death, Violence, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Infertility
A lot of cursing and extreme violence.cateyeschloe'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? No
1.75
Graphic: Child death, Medical content, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Murder, Body horror, Confinement, Racism, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Blood, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Misogyny, Cursing, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Colonisation, Miscarriage, Animal death, Cannibalism, and Suicide