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moserk's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Love the premise - YA read with big themes and their intersectionality:
- immigrants/immigration
- LGBTQIA identities and their acceptance/lack thereof
- familial roles
- medical/healthcare ethics,
but execution fell short of my high hopes + left me wanting more. That said, really happy to know this exists in YA.
The pace felt rushed - just 50 more pages to shed more light, please! And some pieces really lacked clarity - although, maybe some of this is due to the focus on character/topic diversity, which again, I much appreciated. I (literally) felt like this story was all over the place - couldn't keep our location sequence sorted.
Worth noting: I had both a physical and audio copy of this and understood better during my physical chapters. At first I thought the detail disconnect was a symptom of my audio portions, but a quick peek at other reviews tells me that I'm not alone here.
The pace felt rushed - just 50 more pages to shed more light, please! And some pieces really lacked clarity - although, maybe some of this is due to the focus on character/topic diversity, which again, I much appreciated. I (literally) felt like this story was all over the place - couldn't keep our location sequence sorted.
Worth noting: I had both a physical and audio copy of this and understood better during my physical chapters. At first I thought the detail disconnect was a symptom of my audio portions, but a quick peek at other reviews tells me that I'm not alone here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Grief, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Homophobia
avacadosocks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Death, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Violence, and Pedophilia
Minor: Medical content, Fatphobia, Xenophobia, Blood, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Racism
hobbithopeful's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Would you take on someone else's pain and grief for a chance at a better life?
Marisol has little choice to do otherwise when she agrees to be a part of an experiment in exchange for safety for her and her sister. As the experiment progresses the burden of pain soon becomes overbearing, but she can't help but grow closer and closer to Rey, even though when she touches her the pain is all consuming.
A very real look at how immigrants are treated, this book was heartfelt, real, and full of grief. I do wish it was a bit longer, I still had so many questions, or maybe I just wasn't ready to leave these characters yet. I was afraid this was going to be a very heavy read, and while it does have pockets of sadness, it was nothing too difficult or graphic for me to get through.
It's very easy to forget the privilege we have for being in America, as bad as events and people here can be, there are countless others who works themselves to the bone and risk everything to come here.
I highly recommend this book.
Marisol has little choice to do otherwise when she agrees to be a part of an experiment in exchange for safety for her and her sister. As the experiment progresses the burden of pain soon becomes overbearing, but she can't help but grow closer and closer to Rey, even though when she touches her the pain is all consuming.
A very real look at how immigrants are treated, this book was heartfelt, real, and full of grief. I do wish it was a bit longer, I still had so many questions, or maybe I just wasn't ready to leave these characters yet. I was afraid this was going to be a very heavy read, and while it does have pockets of sadness, it was nothing too difficult or graphic for me to get through.
It's very easy to forget the privilege we have for being in America, as bad as events and people here can be, there are countless others who works themselves to the bone and risk everything to come here.
I highly recommend this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Sexual harassment and Sexual violence
Minor: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
vampire_burrito's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
I spent the majority of this book feeling aggressively neutral about it, however I did really like some parts towards the end talking about Marisol's grief/depression. I think I enjoyed the relationship between the two main girls. I liked the parts where they were connecting over their shared love of some old Gilmore Girls-esque show, I thought that was very sweet but on the other hand I wasn't convinced that they would have come to care that deeply for each other in under a month. The other thing I wasn't too sure about was the whole "experiment". I'm not convinced that it was legal and the whole thing felt a bit underdeveloped, which is unfortunate because it's what the entire book is about. I was interested in the commentary that it was supposed to be provided on human experimentation and the way immigrant bodies were used in this program, but I think the book could have gone a little bit deeper (the same things go for all the themes present).That being said, I did enjoy reading about the relationship between Marisol and her younger sister (always love a sibling relationship especially when the MC is an older sister) and, as I've already said, the parts about Marisol and Rey (is that her name. The love interest.) shared grief. Some of the passages really made me feel something and I would say that the book is worth picking up just for those bits. It's one I will probably re-read at some point. I would recommend this book to people who want a YA novel with a sweet sapphic romance, a focus on serious subjects but with a hopeful ending.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
maya_venkatesh36's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Gun violence and Pedophilia
Minor: Xenophobia
snowydaze's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
The ending was a bit rushed, otherwise I loved the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Lesbophobia, Murder, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Medical content, and Hate crime
kathsaph's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
"The Grief Keeper" is the story of Marisol, a seventeen-year-old girl, who flees El Salvador with her little sister under threat of death. Once in America Marisol is offered the chance to win asylum by participating in an experiment; taking another person's grief. What she does not expect is falling in love with the girl she is saving.
This novel was personally difficult to read, but completely relevant and impactful. So many details were packed into 300 pages, all contributing to amazing character development and storytelling. The book is in the first person and often includes Spanish, I ended up looking up the words as I went along, and I recommend doing the same, it added another layer of depth. My response to "The Grief Keeper" was visceral, and although not all of the technology in the book exists, the societal views that would allow the experiment to happen do, making the book terrifying. Please check triggers before reading.
This novel was personally difficult to read, but completely relevant and impactful. So many details were packed into 300 pages, all contributing to amazing character development and storytelling. The book is in the first person and often includes Spanish, I ended up looking up the words as I went along, and I recommend doing the same, it added another layer of depth. My response to "The Grief Keeper" was visceral, and although not all of the technology in the book exists, the societal views that would allow the experiment to happen do, making the book terrifying. Please check triggers before reading.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Gun violence, Homophobia, Medical content, Grief, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Lesbophobia, Torture, Violence, and Sexism
Minor: Blood, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Body shaming
spcandybars's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Xenophobia, and Mental illness
lowsmee's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.0
The highlight of this book is the relationship between Marisol and Gabi. The ending was a huge miss for me.
The sisterly love could not balance out the coercion, torture, emotional manipulation that came after it. I loved so much about the book but I couldn’t get past these 4 things.
1. I’m disgusted by the fact that Marisol gets taken in by the same people who were willing to sacrafice her to preserve their own family.
2. Her relationship with Rey has it’s moments but they are overshadowed by Rey’s willfull ignorance around how the cuffs work. I don’t buy that she just didn’t notice how Marisol was getting worse at the same rate that she was getting better.
3. I don’t think the author fully addresses why transferring grief and trauma from one person to another is a bad idea. There was an opportunity to highlight the importance of our interpersonal relationships in processing grief but she only hints at it.
4. Indranie uses her identity as a justification for kidnapping and abuse and it works.
The non YA sequel should be focused on Marisol processing the fact that she survived her own very special version of Get Out, and allow her to be angry at the people who decided she wasn’t anything more than a receptical for their fragile, white daughter’s grief.
The sisterly love could not balance out the coercion, torture, emotional manipulation that came after it. I loved so much about the book but I couldn’t get past these 4 things.
1. I’m disgusted by the fact that Marisol gets taken in by the same people who were willing to sacrafice her to preserve their own family.
2. Her relationship with Rey has it’s moments but they are overshadowed by Rey’s willfull ignorance around how the cuffs work. I don’t buy that she just didn’t notice how Marisol was getting worse at the same rate that she was getting better.
3. I don’t think the author fully addresses why transferring grief and trauma from one person to another is a bad idea. There was an opportunity to highlight the importance of our interpersonal relationships in processing grief but she only hints at it.
4. Indranie uses her identity as a justification for kidnapping and abuse and it works.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Child abuse and Homophobia
Minor: Child death, Death, and Grief
courtneyfalling's review
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This made me cry multiple times. I'd call it primarily a sad, contemporary novel with speculative fiction elements to deepen the emotional side. All of the main characters feel drawn-out and almost blurry around their edges... it's a lot more about how things feel than who they are. Marisol especially is a complicated mix of fiercely stubborn and mostly passive or internal, which makes the book's pacing sometimes feel heavy. The beginning weighs down a lot, and then we finally get the bulk of important backstory and growth in the final chapters. I can't say I was ever enamored with Rey as a character or the budding relationship between her and Marisol, but they do have some lighthearted moments and I liked the deeper arc of Marisol letting go of her internalized lesbophobia. And the criticism of the US immigration system is very well-done although I still feel like Indranie deserves a lot more comeuppance than she gets.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol
Additional CW for bomb attack/mass violence