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Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'
Little thieves. C'era una volta una ragazza cattiva by Margaret Owen
83 reviews
kourteb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Easily 5 stars. Officially my favorite book. Vanja I will defend you WITH MY LIFE. If Vanja has no supports I AM DECEASED. The queerness is this world is so incredibly beautiful, words cannot describe how seen these romances make me feel. Vanja’s hurt is so heartbreaking but her strength and character development is such a heartwarming experience.
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Grief, Body shaming, and Abandonment
bequavious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Abandonment, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Animal death, and Sexual assault
alexiatormen'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual assault
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, Toxic friendship, and Death
kemikemi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
**To note, I think it would’ve been better to have the main character group be about 20 rather than 16 and have the legal adult age (referenced throughout the book) be 21. They all read as young adults rather than midteens, and the child marriage was really unsettling whenever I was reminded what the girls’ actual ages were.
Graphic: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Violence, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Animal death
blewballoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Murder, Blood, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Violence, Death, and Body horror
Minor: Vomit, Sexual violence, Animal death, and Sexual assault
amelianotthepilot's review against another edition
4.5
I really enjoyed this story it's a very spooky and intricate tale of female rage. All the characters were very complex and interesting and I enjoyed the multiple deadlines rushing our characters to the end. However, I didn't really love the beginning. It wasn't until I was about halfway into the story that I was finally invested. I also didn't love the ending. It almost seemed like the author realized she backed herself into too much of a corner and just reversed it. But I did like the little interludes that were told as tales before each section and I think the end section interlude is my favorite. I also like what she did at the end but not how we got there. The germanic words and culture were interesting but not well explained so I spent most of the book skipping over the words I didn't know since they weren't really explained. I loved the gods aspect and I love a good enemies to lovers and a good morally grey main character. I also loved the casual lgbt+ representation (including lesbians, gays, and a demi character!).
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Child abuse, Classism, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
hanz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment and Violence
Moderate: Medical content and Sexual assault
Minor: War
justinekorson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Vanja wasn't a perfect person by any means but she was funny and resourceful and she cared so damn much for the people around her. Her love story with Emeric was perfect. The deceptions and betrayals in the novel were timed fantastically. It was overall a very wonderful story and I can't wait to read the second/third novels.
There is one gripe I do have with the novel. I had read maybe a third of the book before it's revealed that Giselle is a lesbian and while I found no problem with this, I did feel like all the queer representation was pushed to the back end of the novel. I could be entirely wrong about this but it felt like all the mentions of trans people, lesbians, gay people, etc were all mentioned in the last third of the book and was mentioned nowhere in the first two thirds. Maybe I wasn't paying close enough attention but I usually do for books that I like so I doubt I would've missed anything. If anyone has an instance where queer people were mentioned before Giselle tells Vanja she likes women then please let me know.
Moderate: Abandonment, Murder, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Sexual assault
Minor: War, Animal death, and Vomit
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Death, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Violence, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Minor: War, Vomit, Death of parent, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Abandonment
breaklikeafish'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? Yes
3.5
While Little Thieves is a great book, I didn't love it as much as I could have. Some of my criticisms are at least somewhat justified; others line up very well with something I have been suspecting for some time now: at the ripe old age of 23, I might finally have grown out enjoying books targeted at teenagers.
The book starts with a prologue that sets the atmosphere for a story that is just a bit too original to be called a fairy tale retelling but with enough references to one of my favorite Grimm tales to make me squeal in delight several times.
Sadly, after this very strong start, I felt like the book dragged for the entire first half. I still liked Vanja's character, but her adamant refusal to let anyone help her, while realistic, kept any meaningful relationships from developing in the first half. I sometimes feel like I read solely for character interactions, so I found it increasingly hard to care about the plot at all.
There were, of course, also things about this book I loved. I think more fantasy books would benefit from weaving in LGBTQIA+ representation as seamlessly as it was done in Little Thieves. Most of the time, it was no big deal and just casually happening in the background, and the few times the issues were talked about, it was done respectfully and to give more insight into the characters (
All things considered, I'm glad I took the time to read Little Thieves, if only because I got to know Emeric, Gisele, and all the other amazing people in it.
Graphic: Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Death, Body shaming, Violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Fatphobia and Homophobia