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bearybooky'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
3.75
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Slavery, Cancer, Classism, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, and Murder
cyndi1966'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
2.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Classism, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery and Pregnancy
seashellsforshelley'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Cancer, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content
redheadorganist'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Alcoholism, Medical content, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Alcohol, Abandonment, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Cancer
Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual harassment, and Sexual content
Minor: Infertility
machenn'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
3.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, Misogyny, Alcohol, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Violence
oceanwriter'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
4.75
When her stepmother dies, Sallie Kincaid is finally called home after being sent away at the age of eight. She’s thrilled by this second chance to reclaim her place in her family and redeem herself as a big sister to her half-brother, Eddie. It doesn’t take long for her to realize that she might be in over her head. Nevertheless, she refuses to back down from a challenge. She isn’t afraid to do whatever it takes to prove herself worthy of her father’s affection.
The longer Sallie is home, she realizes that her father is far different from the man she remembers. What’s more is that she doesn’t know much about her own past, especially surrounding her mother’s death. When Duke remarries, even more secrets rise to the surface.
I ate up the in-depth timeline in which the story is told. Most of the events of the book happen in real-time which made it hard to pause reading. It’s also extremely character driven which I love. It’s overall an emotional and dark story in its way. All that said, there was a lot of information and characters to digest. Honestly, I’d say too many, especially when it comes to Sallie’s complicated family tree. I’m still not positive about all of the relationships. Still, I was thoroughly engrossed from start to finish. Sometimes that’s difficult for me to find.
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Cancer, Infertility, and Infidelity
Minor: Murder, Cursing, and Misogyny
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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: Abandonment, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Grief, Incest, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Child death, Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
mels_reading_log'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Mental illness, Police brutality, Sexism, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Murder, Violence, Classism, Death of parent, Hate crime, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Suicide attempt
Minor: War
thebookpear's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Racism, Child death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Cancer and Miscarriage
noble_editorial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Sallie had great potential as the MC, and her father was quite interesting, but the cast of characters grew too unwieldy as the story progressed and diluted my interest in all of them, never mind the confusion of keeping track of them all. The chemistry between the characters didn't feel very authentic, either.
I found the pacing was off, with a time jump that pulled me out of the story near the beginning, and a lack of tension throughout. The action never felt particularly high-stakes, and the events leading to exposed secrets and family drama required too much of a suspension of disbelief for me to remain invested in Sallie's story.
I think the premise of this book had fantastic potential, but the execution just didn't work for me. I prefer this author's narrative nonfiction. Thank you to Simon & Schuster and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Moderate: Sexism, Domestic abuse, Child death, Suicide, Classism, Racism, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, Violence, Death of parent, and Infidelity