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vballerin's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
applejacksbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I received a copy for review from Netgalley.
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this as the start of it really reminded my of Where the Crawdads Sing . The beginning chapters were very similar, but once you get to part two it's a very different experience. Right away with meeting the new family that Leah is staying with you can pick up on culty, radical evangelical vibes. While I understand it's the 1930's and times were very different it's still very weird to me to have a 14 year old as your hired help. From there it's a very sad and difficult story to get through. Leah is forced to basically leave school, become a helpmate to a woman, who we find out later in the story is her aunt, and is berated constantly for minor infractions (some that are caused by some kind of seizure). The whole story is sad and by the end Leah is even forced to go through a nonconsensual sterilization AT 14.
Do I recommend people read this? Sure, I think it makes a good book for discussions, especially since forced sterilization are still happening in America to this day, but I do warn that you be in the right mind-frame to handle the content.
At first I wasn't sure if I was going to enjoy this as the start of it really reminded my of Where the Crawdads Sing . The beginning chapters were very similar, but once you get to part two it's a very different experience. Right away with meeting the new family that Leah is staying with you can pick up on culty, radical evangelical vibes. While I understand it's the 1930's and times were very different it's still very weird to me to have a 14 year old as your hired help. From there it's a very sad and difficult story to get through. Leah is forced to basically leave school, become a helpmate to a woman, who we find out later in the story is her aunt, and is berated constantly for minor infractions (some that are caused by some kind of seizure). The whole story is sad and by the end Leah is even forced to go through a nonconsensual sterilization AT 14.
Do I recommend people read this? Sure, I think it makes a good book for discussions, especially since forced sterilization are still happening in America to this day, but I do warn that you be in the right mind-frame to handle the content.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Body horror, Death of parent, and Medical trauma
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