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mellowreading's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
What thefuck
-I really liked this book until like 350 pages in. I liked the characters, I liked the themes and real-world commentary explored. I’m a sucker for anything found-family. I had a hard time putting it down, and felt it was really well paced. I was very engaged and on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things turned out
And then the twist happened
I still really liked the book, but the twist was a bit too far out of left field for me. It went from a thriller/drama to a sci fi/horror super quick? With no build up? And all of the characters just. Accepted it. The randomness and unbelievability of it + the unfazed reaction of the characters really soured it for me. I don’t even necessarily think this book would’ve needed a twist - the anticipation of finding the body was nail-biting enough alone. I think Oshiro was going for shocking and accidentally fell into the realm of ridiculous/unbelievable. I think that the book, with its themes of the foster system and religious trauma, would’ve been more impactful had it NOT been for the twist. The end of the book also felt a bit rushed to me in comparison with the rest, because the weird new plot point needed to be explained and addressed as quickly as possible for the conclusion. There were also a couple of plot points (Carlos’ adoption and just. Rakeem.) that seemed resolved extremely conveniently and frankly just didn’t make sense (I did read an ARC copy though, so maybe this was resolved in the final!). TLDR; a plot twist being shocking and completely unpredictable doesn’t necessarily make it good.
Despite all of my problems with the ending of this book, I still really enjoyed the majority of my time with it and it helped me get out of a reading slump. A book that I couldn’t put down.
-I really liked this book until like 350 pages in. I liked the characters, I liked the themes and real-world commentary explored. I’m a sucker for anything found-family. I had a hard time putting it down, and felt it was really well paced. I was very engaged and on the edge of my seat waiting to see how things turned out
And then the twist happened
I still really liked the book, but the twist was a bit too far out of left field for me. It went from a thriller/drama to a sci fi/horror super quick? With no build up? And all of the characters just. Accepted it. The randomness and unbelievability of it + the unfazed reaction of the characters really soured it for me. I don’t even necessarily think this book would’ve needed a twist - the anticipation of finding the body was nail-biting enough alone. I think Oshiro was going for shocking and accidentally fell into the realm of ridiculous/unbelievable. I think that the book, with its themes of the foster system and religious trauma, would’ve been more impactful had it NOT been for the twist. The end of the book also felt a bit rushed to me in comparison with the rest, because the weird new plot point needed to be explained and addressed as quickly as possible for the conclusion. There were also a couple of plot points (Carlos’ adoption and just. Rakeem.) that seemed resolved extremely conveniently and frankly just didn’t make sense (I did read an ARC copy though, so maybe this was resolved in the final!). TLDR; a plot twist being shocking and completely unpredictable doesn’t necessarily make it good.
Despite all of my problems with the ending of this book, I still really enjoyed the majority of my time with it and it helped me get out of a reading slump. A book that I couldn’t put down.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Violence, Mental illness, Confinement, Child abuse, Racism, Child death, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion, Incest, Pedophilia, and Body horror
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