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xinawebb's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Confinement, Child death, Classism, and Death
Minor: Chronic illness, Gore, Vomit, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Grief, and Terminal illness
zdmgg's review
emotional
reflective
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
5/5. A definite must-read if you've read the previous books in the series.
The pandemic storyline was really interesting to read, given that we are now still fighting a pandemic. I love the way magic was used throughout the book to try slow down and stop the pandemic. You've got magical spells used to test, trace, and isolate patients; healers that ease patients' suffering; Tris and Niko using their powers to find where the disease originated; Briar, Rosethorn, and Crane using their plant magic to find a cure; and many more cases of magic mixing with pandemic occurrences. It makes the world feel natural and the magic just a natural expansion of our world.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Looking forward to the next book in the series.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
quasinaut's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
4.5
Gosh it's weird (re)reading a book about a pandemic during a pandemic! Equal parts devastating and heartwarming, this book follows Briar as he nurses the sick and helps with the intricate behind-the-scenes work uncovering a cure, all while people he cares about fall ill.
I appreciated seeing Briar's growing love for Rosethorn, his friends, and his new home, though I do wish that we'd seen more growth with Briar's magic in this book. I also totally struggled to get a sense of the passage of time -- I still can't tell if months or only weeks passed between the first cases, the middle of the outbreak, and the finding of a cure?
Side note: I can't stand how much Rosethorn "corrects" Briar's speech. Stop being so prescriptivist! Also, can't you see that his code switching allows him to gain the trust of Flick and the other street rats? Major pet peeve of mine!
I appreciated seeing Briar's growing love for Rosethorn, his friends, and his new home, though I do wish that we'd seen more growth with Briar's magic in this book. I also totally struggled to get a sense of the passage of time -- I still can't tell if months or only weeks passed between the first cases, the middle of the outbreak, and the finding of a cure?
Side note: I can't stand how much Rosethorn "corrects" Briar's speech. Stop being so prescriptivist! Also, can't you see that his code switching allows him to gain the trust of Flick and the other street rats? Major pet peeve of mine!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Child death
Moderate: Grief
charm0nix's review
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Child death and Medical trauma
Minor: Grief
ladydisdain's review
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If I could give infinite stars to this book, I would. While the connections between the quartet and their teachers are emphasized throughout, the bond between Briar and Rosethorn is consistently highlighted as unique and necessary to both characters. While the magical take on epidemiology hits different in The During Times (writing this review at the dawning of 2021), the incorporation of known scientific method rather than an easy magical cure heightens this story above an easier Quest for the Cure (i.e. 40% of the Redwall books). Ultimately, this story roots (eh? ehhhhh?) itself in humanity, the best of it and the worst of it and the great equalizer of death and disease. But the centerpiece is always, always the love between Rosethorn and her boy. I thought I would read this aloud to my wife and took an extra 10 minutes to make it through the final chapter because I simply cannot read it without crying . A fitting, cathartic end to the series founding the first family of all found families.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Excrement, Vomit, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
As this is a plot about a mysterious epidemic coming on a community, forced quarantine and a frustrating hunt for a cure, there are definite triggering aspects when living/hopefully one day having lived through a global pandemic.aimiller's review
adventurous
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
FOLKS. THIS BOOK. NOT GREAT TO READ IN A PANDEMIC. But also it feels like everything comes so full circle (lol) here in such amazing and powerful ways. I just love these characters so much and every book it has felt like the stakes get a little bit higher and a little bit higher. Some of it was predictable to some extent but I don't think that predictability hurt the book in any way--if anything, it made the tension of it all greater.
I can't wait to read the next series, but this was such an amazing end that deeply highlighted the growth of all the characters, loved it so much.
I can't wait to read the next series, but this was such an amazing end that deeply highlighted the growth of all the characters, loved it so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Child death
It's about a pandemic so as I noted in my review, worth considering when you read it.frantic_vampire's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- 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
This was the book I was most worried about rereading in this series. Mostly because I thought it would be triggering given that it’s about a pandemic. But it wasn’t. Or at least it wasn’t for me. In fact it was almost comforting in a way? I appreciated Briar’s willingness to jump into caring for the sick, his helplessness and anger when things were out of his control, and his determination to find a cure. This is might be my favorite book in this series. Briar’s Book is getting five stars.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Medical trauma, Blood, Child death, Medical content, and Classism
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