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beckydr'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
5.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, and Gore
Minor: Drug abuse, Police brutality, and Alcoholism
amy_park's review against another edition
3.0
I don't think I gave this book enough time when I first started reading, I feel this book needed you to spend a little bit of time to establish yourself in the plot and better your understanding. This did effect my overall reading expereince.
I liked learning about the native North American experience and their traditions and customs, the commentary of the native American experience was insightful and heartbreaking.
I though this was OK, I don't think it will be shortlisted for the women's prize 2024.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Racism
Moderate: Child death and Addiction
_inge's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book had me hooked from the start. Alice felt incredibly real, and I had no issue envisioning her life from the first pages. I love especially how her husband is seen to try his hardest but doesn’t quite get ‘it’, which made their communication issues understandable - even though this is usually something that can really put me off in a novel. The way Alice’s mental health develops felt very real too, I’m not surprised the author consulted women with similar experiences on this as it did come across as natural. Initially she’s quite funny and seems a bit conflicted, but gradually she spirals further and further. Some segments reminded me of Mona Awad’s writing. I love magical realism, horror, and unreliable narrators, so this was perfect for me.
The only downside to me is that the last quarter didn’t feel very necessary. The story seems to wrap up at one point, and I didn’t really need more of the plot to feel satisfied with the ending. I wouldn’t have minded an ambiguous ending, given the story as a whole could be interpreted in different ways as well. It would’ve been clear enough to feel like a fitting end. Instead, the last quarter increases the magical elements and wants to highlight generational trauma more. I actually felt less satisfied with this additional context than I would’ve felt if the book ended about 50 pages earlier.
If you’re into some of the topics I’ve mentioned here, you’re surely going to enjoy reading this book. I’d like to read more from Native authors after reading this as well.
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug use, Sexual content, Xenophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Vomit, and Racism
Moderate: Self harm, Child death, and Gun violence
fiaharringbook'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Cannibalism, Child death, Death of parent, Violence, Vomit, Alcoholism, Body horror, Classism, Drug abuse, Genocide, Addiction, Chronic illness, Colonisation, Gore, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, Cursing, Gaslighting, Grief, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Death, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Pregnancy, and Racial slurs
baileyanabella's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Slight spoiler alert in the content warnings - but if you are sensitive to dark themes I recommend looking over them, there is a lot in this book.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Addiction, Body horror, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Grief, Racism, Confinement, Suicide attempt, and Blood
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Cannibalism, Drug use, Child death, and Chronic illness
drownedinfictionx's review
- 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: Blood, Death, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Police brutality, Racism, Alcohol, Medical content, Addiction, Grief, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Child death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Gore, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Classism, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Blood, and Suicidal thoughts
brit_is_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
While I was interested in the themes that Alicia Elliott was exploring in the first half of the book, I found the back half to fully descend into madness (which, I understand, is part of the plot), but was largely difficult to follow and understand.
I don't think I'm unable to explore dense material, but it just came across like there were so many interesting ideas here, and just one or two couldn't be decided upon - so it had to be all of them.
The end in particular, while I found it to be sweet as an idea, felt wholly out of place in comparison to the rest of the novel.
If I had to do it all over again, I’d probably skip this one.
Thank you to NetGalley and Penguin Group Dutton for the ARC copy in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, and Colonisation
Minor: Blood, Pregnancy, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, and Cannibalism
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
2.5
I struggled with how slow the first half was. It was slowly building to something, but I was impatient to get into the horrific and the shocking. It deals with some heavy topics like post-partum mental health, Indigenous motherhood being intensely scrutinized, MMIWG2S, and academia's fascination and appropriation of Indigenous knowledge and stories.
The second half really takes off and I was both *here for it* and also very confused. It is full of twists and turns and definitely held my attention as its pacing sped up. Those topics that were introduced in the first half fall to the wayside a bit in exchange for gory body horror.
The book jumps from domestic fiction with a graphic, horror twist to a confusing sci-fi conclusion. I wish it had kept its horror genre throughout and maintained its clear message because I felt the last 10% fizzled out. I'm not quite sure where it leaves the protagonist and her family.
I can feel the influence of Cherie Dimaline in And Then She Fell's dark, urban fantasy vibes and fans of her work will want to check this out.
Graphic: Alcohol, Body horror, Cultural appropriation, Pregnancy, Blood, Drug abuse, Racism, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Alcoholism, Child death, Child abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Emotional abuse, and Eating disorder
our_bookish_reads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Anyways, this was a good book, I personally don't class this as Horror, but I recommend it if you want to read a psychological thriller.
Also, please make sure you read all TW/CW.
Graphic: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Alcohol, Violence, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Death, Child death, Cancer, and Vomit
Minor: Murder, Abortion, Abandonment, Alcoholism, and Rape