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annniina98's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Torture, Physical abuse, Murder, Blood, Religious bigotry, Child death, Gore, and Sexism
Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Pedophilia, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, and Trafficking
Minor: Death of parent
jachnax'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: Colonisation, Death, Confinement, Deportation, Genocide, Violence, Misogyny, Torture, War, Blood, Murder, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gore, and Grief
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Bullying, Sexual violence, and Body horror
Minor: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, Self harm, and Rape
goodthingsread'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
The romance felt a little tacked on and restrained, which honestly feels like the phrasing I use for the YA novels that I love best, so that should be a compliment. I appreciated, too, that Keita has drunk his Respect Women juice. I hate when the YA novel ends with a twist and cliffhanger and the love interest is revealed to be evil or presented as dubious with a big TBD stamped on his forehead. Instead, this novel ends without a cliffhanger at all. The setup for a further story is there -- one I am very interested in -- but you get the satisfaction of Deka's accomplishment and can revel in that for a moment before moving on to what's next. I don't see that as often in series, especially not YA ones, so that choice was a breath of fresh air.
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Misogyny
ctara2123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death, War, Violence, Torture, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual assault, and Bullying
decie'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, War, Abandonment, Animal death, Body horror, Violence, Sexism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, and Confinement
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Rape
nelldiaz'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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Torture, Body horror, Child death, Blood, Death, Violence, Misogyny, War, Child abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit
brighgreen's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.5
The main character is so one-dimensional and flip flops ideologies and beliefs too quickly to follow. It’s like reading a 300 page panic attack and then suddenly she’s fully formed and confident. She’s so inconsistent that the whole book is rendered pointless. Not one character acts how a real human would; I understand this is fantasy but we’re still supposed to believe they’re real people, right?
Graphic: Violence, Death, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Misogyny
zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Animal death, Blood, Misogyny, Child death, Child abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Colonisation, Death of parent, Trafficking, Body horror, Gore, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Kidnapping, Grief, Hate crime, Police brutality, Slavery, War, Torture, Murder, Death, Sexism, Outing, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Stalking
Moderate: Excrement, Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Colonisation, and Vomit
colorismmysteryspouse'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
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Ableism, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Cursing, Abandonment, Colonisation, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Deportation, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexism, War, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual violence, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, Child death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Vomit, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Excrement
kimreads14'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
4.25
The overall experience of reading this book made my blood boil at all times. Forna's capacity to depict a patriarchal and misogynistic world that will make you question your own reality is masterful!
Forna offers a beautiful piece that pushes you to critically think about the state of our society.
The reason why I bumped it down from 5 ⭐️ to 4.25 ⭐️ is because from time to time the writing and the world-building felt a bit forced rather than carrying you inside Otera smoothly and with grace.
Also while I understand that Deka is meant to be special among even the Alakis, the way this was depicted sometimes felt a bit borderline of a Mary Sue character. Anyone who is used to reading books of this kind will admit that the MFC tends to always be special... However, it sometimes felt like Deka was way too special for no real reason other than pumping up the character's ego instead of moving the story along.
Finally, I was a bit disappointed with the brevity of White Hands' final explanation of who she is and why she did what she did. Parts of the story could have been shorter to give this more space, or pages could have been added.
Overall though, this book was beautifully written and truly makes you question how 'free' you are as a woman in society. I'm excited to get back to Deka and her friends' story with the next book in the series.
Graphic: Colonisation, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Death, Slavery, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, War, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Child abuse, Torture, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence