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picaresquedreamer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Confinement, Slavery, and Murder
Minor: Sexual violence and Violence
toffishay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death, Toxic friendship, and Gaslighting
Minor: Violence, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Excrement, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail
akardian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I think you would not like this book if you desire world building, a fast pace, a plot focused book, or a diverse set of characters. I would also advise to look at the trigger warnings (while not major themes of the book, there’s talk of mental health breakdowns, violence, cult activity, abusive mentor/mentee relationships).
Minor: Kidnapping, Cursing, Gaslighting, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, and Slavery
isabellyboo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Violence
mmidi's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence and Violence
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Kidnapping
bi_n_large's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Ableism
Minor: Violence, Murder, and Sexual violence
ebp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Gaslighting, Confinement, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Murder, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Slavery
Minor: Child death, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing
becca_w_'s review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting, Confinement, Death, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Death, Excrement, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Abandonment, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Cursing, and Mental illness
webtheweeb'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? Yes
5.0
I’m kind of astonished by this book. It starts off so, so huge and completely incomprehensible - like the character “writing” it, you need to make massive leaps and grasp onto the smallest glimpses of sanity to maintain your footing - but Clarke leaves a trail of hints that not all is as it seems so intriguing that I couldn’t bear to put it down. I HAD to know what was really going on here. And by the end of the book, in a way that I think so few other pieces of media have done, the frame is SMALLER than at the start, more manageable and explained and easier for my little mind to comprehend. BUT THEN??? THAT LAST PAGE???? Just completely explodes that and undoes it in the best, best way. The middle place is still connected to our world, leaking statues of people as they are??? As they will be??? Where is the place beyond, and what does it mean? We don’t need to know, but the shape of this book is immense and ingenious.
My only reservation is with the main character - does Clarke as a white woman have a right to tell his story? I also wonder about her intertwining of Laurence’s sexuality and his violence, which was not provided any kind of representational foil or anything to offset that association.
Overall, this book, like Octavia Butler’s, did something to my brain I don’t think I’ll easily forget. In my experience, it is totally original and so, so interesting. I feel like I’d need to read it a thousand times over to begin to understand most of what’s in there, and I’d do so gladly. 5/5
Graphic: Violence and Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder
laurenipsum's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gun violence, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, and Violence