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wardenred's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Welcome to being friends with Jane McKeene, the hardest job in the world.
I really wish I liked this book more than I actually did. Because there was so much cool stuff here! The setting itself is beatuifully executed: all the historical details merged seamlessly with the added element of zombies, and all that light shed on the kind of people history loves to forget. The cast of characters is wonderfully diverse and pretty much everyone gets a moment to shine. There are plenty of little scenes that absolutely beg to play out on a tv screen. I loved the inclusion of Katherine as a narrator in her own right; I feel her chapters added a lot to the story, especially in the first part when Jane is largely out of action and mostly gets to be heartbroken over at least two different people. I liked every single action sequence.
But at the same time, all this awesomeness just never clicked into a solid story for me. The pacing is super rocky. There's that entire first half where nothing much happens until the plot twist in the middle. There are two absolutely beautiful chapters at the beginning of the first half (seriously, my favorite in the whole book and possibly the whole series) that carry such promise about all the change that happened to the characters, and then the story starts to meander again. A lot of the really important events happen either entirely off-screen or are jumbled into something very short; meanwhile, what feels like merely connective tissue drags on for pages and pages. There are numerous plot threads, including some coming all the way from the first book, that are underdeveloped or left hanging.
I frequently react to novellas with, "I wish this was a full-scale novel." With this book, my reaction is the opposite: I wish this was a novella. Or a string of short stories. Maybe all those meaningful parts would shine brighter if they weren't bogged down in all the rockiness!
Graphic: Racism, Death, Violence, Animal death, and Confinement
Moderate: Slavery and Torture
lilacs_book_bower'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Slavery, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Blood, Colonisation, Racism, Violence, and Abandonment
breesbookmark'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
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Death, Gore, Police brutality, Sexism, Gun violence, Violence, Misogyny, Colonisation, Medical trauma, Murder, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, and War
Minor: Child death and Abandonment
lizabethstucker's review against another edition
4.5
After the fall of Summerland, Jane McKeene and Katherine Deveraux escort a wagon of survivors to Nicodemus, Kansas. They and Jackson Keats fight off shamblers during the trip to the black-run town, observing how the undead appear to be getting larger and smarter with their tactics.
Jane has no intentions of staying in Kansas, her plans to continue to California to search for her mother and Aunt Aggie, the woman who essentially raised her, is still her primary focus. But events interfere with her plans, from survival to revenge to dealing with grief and guilt.
Starts immediately after the end of "Dread Nation". Immediately engrossing, with the added benefit of alternating chapters giving us more insight into Katherine. I was iffy about her in the first book, but this time I find myself enjoying her more and more. We're given a much better look at her backstory and her methods of dealing with anxiety and self-doubt with the use of her corset.
Jane is still as prickly as ever, certain events that happen in the story making her try desperately to harden her heart to protect herself. She believes she is alone, friendless, but Jane has more friends and allies than even she can imagine.
Prepare to have your heart twisted and broken, patched and twisted again. Ireland has given us strong black characters, inclusivity, bisexual characters such as Jane, and a chunky read. Comparing it to the first book? Not quite as strong, but that might be due to the size. It literally could've been divided into two books, considering how the different sections were separated by over a year. Just my opinion. Still a great read.
CONTENT WARNING: child endangerment, child death, zombies, violence, and brutality.
Graphic: Violence, Child death, and Child abuse
honuzbubbles'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence and Murder
Moderate: Racism
fyarae'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: Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Gore
Moderate: Death
sshabein'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Racism
literarymoodz'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
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Death, and Child death
ericadawson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Jane's constant romantic troubles bogged down the beginning of the book, to the point where even after the Big Reveal for one of her (several) romantic infatuations, I stopped feeling bad for her because like, girl, he cheated. Twice. This man was the definition of a lightskin loser and I could not understand the level of devastation Jane was feeling. Even the reveal of this man's secret seemed out of left field. Not only that, but Jane had a tendency to start making eyes at nearly every man she came across, up to and including a definitely racist insane white man. Please.
(I noticed an annoying pattern of Jane's crushes tending toward being mixed or non-Black people exclusively. I think we have one non-mixed Black woman who's a prominent character. Otherwise, your chances of finding someone who's fully Black and fully significant are slim.)
I will say, though, that this was really my only issue with this book. I loved Katherine's character, the way she developed into a very sure-footed person and insightful person. Her introspections contrasted nicely with Jane's. I liked Jane's corruption arc, and I loved their friendship and Katherine's unwavering loyalty to Jane.
I enjoyed the voice and the prose, as well as the distinction between Katherine and Jane's POVs. Tension was well maintained, although I began to much prefer the post-time skip portion of the book over what was going on beforehand. Again, the romance(s), often times seemingly nonsensical, got on my nerves enough to knock down the star rating for this book.
It's rare that I enjoy sequels as much as I did this one--but if there happens to be a third installment, I'll be tuning in.
Graphic: Blood and Violence
mydearwatsonbooks's review against another edition
Graphic: Violence, Racism, Child death, Murder, Blood, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Racial slurs, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, and Vomit