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mags_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Slavery, Xenophobia, and Abandonment
bexi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I often struggled to connect with the characters and found many of them unlikable, including the main character Lyra (she grew on me, but I'm still not sure I like her).
I believe this book is supposed to be a critique of Christianity, or maybe more specifically the Church. I occasionally felt I lacked the knowledge to understand all of the critiques because although my parents were raised Baptist & Catholic respectively, I was not raised as such. For context, I'm not a religious person and identify as agnostic. I found the commentary interesting, but if you're a Christian you might get upset by some of it.
This book is marked as middle grade and young adult. I'd say it leans more YA. I found this incredibly dark for MG and would not recommend it to the average middle grader. If said child is emotionally & intellectually mature for their age then okay, but otherwise I'd say it's best for ages 14+. I don't have kids, so take that with a grain of salt. I personally would not have been mature/smart enough to get much out this book had I read it in middle school. 😅
I thought the story was unique and liked it overall, but I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book in the series.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Excrement, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
moonchildjuli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Confinement, Racism, Torture, Xenophobia, and Kidnapping
anni_swanilda'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Medical content, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcohol
eni_iilorak'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Bullying, Sexism, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Alcohol
sarasreading'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
Hard to believe so much was packed into this book. I'm pretty sick in bed this week, so this was a great way to pass the time and distract me from how bad I've been feeling. Very excited for more of this story!
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
jessthanthree'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Misogyny, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Police brutality, War, and Classism
whirl'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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
f18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Violence, Blood, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Slavery and Alcohol
fiveredhens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
10-yr-old me: wow cool ferret
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Racism, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Vomit, Dementia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
orientalism, africa as a wild monolith, romani stereotypes