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vigil's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
somewhere in this book there is a promising story. unfortunately, it comes in small increments, few and far between.
the first issue with this book is structural. there are two timelines, a past timeline, and a present timeline. in her commitment to the dual timeline, dean gives justice to neither of them, creating an uneven overly drawn out narrative but also an undeveloped and not well thought out one. this book, when it is not repeating itself, giving long drawn out explanations, revealing plot points too early or too late, will actively contradict itself, even when concerning information that was given not even three pages prior.
in my opinion, this reads like the first draft of a book. the seeds of promise are there, but is ultimately bogged down by nonsense and unnecessary factors. any editor worth their salt would not have sent this book out to print; i am upset that dean doesn’t seem to have that editor in her corner.
another issue is the premise.
this book also chose to essentially make a poor imitation of the handmaid’s tale, by implementing a gender essentialist society (which is utterly ridiculous in general, but especially here where the basis of the society is that knowledge is power) and recreating patriarchal structures, despite book eaters being secluded from human society and explicitly not sharing their customs, aside from stupid moments of christianity that are unaddressed and make no sense.
the author’s handling of this misogyny is shallow and reductive, and often ends up falling prey to the very structures it is attempting to criticize. it writes a cartoon character of a villain in her elder brother ramsay, who’s pov is written identically to that of a 13 year old boy who’s been radicalized by andrew tate.
devon herself is mostly devoid of a personality, aside from being kind of selfish (though she has been given no reason and often no option to be selfless) and her most important trait, being a mommy. you’d think that as a former childbride who was sold off twice to become an incubator and had to abandon her first child at three, and had her second unwanted child be a monster who eats brains, her relationship to motherhood and her children would be fraught and complicated, especially in the case of cai, where she is forced to murder innocents to keep him fed. but alas, no. everything is overcome through the power of motherlove which overcomes all, and is magic, instantaneous, and controls all your thoughts. give me a goddamn break.
devon has approximately two positive female dynamics, one is the sister of her male friend who she talks too all of twice, and bond over #motherlove with, and the other is a woman she spent two days with and somehow fell in love. the other women are generally portrayed as jealous old hags, and not usually mentioned.
and the ending. the ending is contingent around the fact that the book eater families are undocumented and thus the women cannot leave. so they must go to ireland where there is an unguarded border.
the issue is that the idea for the ending is introduced just a few chapters after the reveal that one of the book eater families uses undocumented immigrants for cheap labor. if you can traffic people in, surely, as an ancient super race, you can find a way to get across the ocean. (if you’re wondering if the human trafficking is relevant or commented upon much, the answer is no. like 50% of all the other information in this book.
the only reason I’m not giving it a flat one star is because this book is exactly like a cw show. it’s not outstanding but mostly banal in its inoffensiveness
it’s like if julie plec did a vegan vampire take on the handmaid’s tale. if that doesn’t make you shiver in horror then i can’t help you.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infertility, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
kkalicky94'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? It's complicated
2.5
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Grief, Violence, Abandonment, Blood, Confinement, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, and Slavery
mo345's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Grief, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Abandonment, Death, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Infertility, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia and Trafficking
rachelschloneger's review
3.0
Graphic: Blood and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment
Minor: Sexual harassment
thebookraiders's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Pregnancy, and Cannibalism
Minor: Blood, Death, Gore, Cursing, Rape, Domestic abuse, Sexism, Confinement, and Gun violence
sofiaysa'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
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Pregnancy, Violence, Emotional abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Trafficking, and Cursing
touchegiantsquid's review
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Gun violence, Acephobia/Arophobia, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Sexism, Slavery, Violence, Blood, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Trafficking
kurumipanda's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Murder, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Sexism
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Pregnancy, Rape, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Medical content
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Infertility, and Suicidal thoughts
wellreadandhalfdead's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
I did enjoy the characters. Cai was my favorite, he was very strange but sweet. I thought the atmosphere of the book was great; it takes place in decrepit mansions and dirty motel rooms, which gave it a mysterious feel that I could really get into. I thought the exploration of family dynamics and the entrenchment of tradition was a really cool angle to tell the story from, and I would have loved to see that explored even more, as well as the relationship between Devon and Hester. The prose was surprisingly beautiful, enough to make me want to give Dean's next book a try.
Overall I was not impressed, but it might hit better for someone else.
Graphic: Sexism and Blood
Moderate: Rape and Pregnancy
ashwaar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Pregnancy, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infertility, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Death, Drug use, Murder, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Alcoholism, Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Alcohol, and Child death
Minor: Vomit