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calamitywindpetal'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Racism
Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
felofhe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Classism, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Violence, Ableism, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Pregnancy, Body shaming, War, Car accident, Child abuse, Colonisation, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
bridgeca2'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
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Abandonment, Mass/school shootings, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug use, and Violence
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Alcohol, Racism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Death, Mass/school shootings, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Child death, Child abuse, Car accident, Colonisation, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Drug use, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide, and Animal death
Minor: Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Animal cruelty, Incest, Misogyny, Torture, War, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Cancer, Body horror, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Excrement, and Rape
allisoncc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Death, Child abuse, Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Grief, and Racism
Moderate: Rape, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Genocide, Child death, Violence, Sexual assault, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Body shaming, Terminal illness, Violence, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Genocide, and Domestic abuse
chaosandwildflowers's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
One of Tommy Orange's greatest strengths is in his writing and his understanding of the human psyche. The writing truly is beautiful, even feeling poetic in some places, and though the cast of characters is vast, he takes time to explore each of them in at least a little bit of depth.
However, I do think the book tried to do too much in too little space. Some characters feel extremely similar, making their chapters feel repetitive, and the sheer number of characters made it difficult to really delve into more than a few of them. I believe this book should have either streamlined its plot to fit the space or allowed itself more pages to really explore the themes. I also felt like the story ended very abruptly, with a few loose ends and unexplained plot points.
Overall, I would absolutely recommend this book. Hard stop. I think it's important to read, especially in our current society. But I'd also suggest that readers go into it expecting to focus more on the characters than on an extremely coherent plot. Solid 3/5 stars!
Graphic: Death, Child death, Cursing, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, and Rape
clare072'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
3.25
Graphic: Mass/school shootings and Gun violence
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, and Mental illness
Minor: Ableism, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Cancer, Car accident, Genocide, Abortion, Sexual assault, and Terminal illness
gilnean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: War, Excrement, Murder, Gore, Death, Genocide, Colonisation, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Cursing, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Child death, Alcoholism, Grief, Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, Racism, Gun violence, Suicide, Drug use, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Sexism, Sexual assault, Rape, Death of parent, Medical content, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Terminal illness, and Pregnancy
Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Abandonment, Abortion, Self harm, Classism, Kidnapping, Confinement, Child abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, and Religious bigotry
jenny_d'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
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, and Racism
Minor: Excrement