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pagesofnay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Deadnaming, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Transphobia, and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Infertility, and Miscarriage
sliceofsav'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? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Self harm, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Colonisation
bisexualwentworth'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
2.5
There were a lot of things that I liked. The dialogue was fun. Wyatt’s narrative voice was incredibly entertaining (though I can definitely see why some readers wouldn’t like it). Every scene that was just characters hanging out and bantering was extremely enjoyable.
I loved several of the side characters, especially Briar (though I’m not sure how I feel about the twist regarding her character, even though it was totally unsurprising).
The politics and the ruminations on oppression were interesting, but more on that later.
But then there were a LOT of things that didn’t work for me. Here is the list, in no particular order:
- First person present tense is my least favorite POV/tense choice for novels, and I especially didn’t like that the flashbacks were still in present tense. That was the part that really got to me.
- I HATE the term “theydy.” Hate it.
- Super fascinating that this is a book that is largely about indigenous climate activism, both in a real way and in a fantasy metaphor way, WRITTEN BY AN INDIGENOUS AUTHOR, that still centers a white main character. Maybe it’s not my place as a white reader to have an issue with this. But I thought it was a weird choice and I certainly don’t think it helped the book’s message.
- Wyatt was a deeply frustrating main character generally. He is annoying and oblivious, and every bad thing he does is justified as self-defense or something. I think I would have liked him better if he’d been a worse person, honestly. Maybe that’s just an issue with this book being YA. I don’t know.
- Honestly the fantasy oppression metaphor was very confusing. Were the witches a metaphor? The author was trying hard to make them NOT be one by creating a cast that was super diverse in a variety of ways. So they weren’t a metaphor for queer people or people of color, at least not intentionally, but it ended up feeling like they were an unintentional metaphor for disability, especially since there were no disabled characters in the book. Regardless, it felt messy.
- All of the interpersonal conflict was kind of annoying, but again, that’s probably just a YA thing that I’ve mostly avoided by only reading really good YA.
- I absolutely hated the whole soulmates/fated mates thing. ESPECIALLY when only one partner even felt this special draw to the other one. I think that’s an awful, nonconsensual way to wrote a relationship, and this book totally failed to interrogate this really really weird idea that there’s one person who’s perfectly fated to be with you. I kept thinking it would, especially after the whole Clarke thing, but NOOOOO the main couple is meant for each other and we just have to suck it up and root for them! Very frustrating.
- The transitions between scenes and the action scenes generally were simply not well-written. I was very confused about how the characters arrived at certain locations and conversations in almost every chapter.
Graphic: Death, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, and Transphobia
the_vegan_bookworm'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Genocide, Infertility, and Police brutality
thewildmageslibrary's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Drug use, Infertility, and Sexual content
ocean'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: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
freckled_frog_boi'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
4.25
Wyatt is an angry mc (for good reason) but doesn't process that anger in productive ways, so I could get frustrated with him at times. I also recognize he grew up in a very restricted environment and has only a few years in the human world to deconstruct - so wyatt overlooks his white privilege in some of his monologues. He also has to be warmed up to the revolutionary ideas of his friends, and i almost come to count on his friends more than him - i guess that’s why the plot twists work so well
But overall I loved reading it and I think you will too!
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
kerttuli'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, and Transphobia
Minor: Infertility and Miscarriage
librarianmage'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: Death and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
icarly'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? It's complicated
3.75
I really enjoyed the characters and the reveal of Briar was done so cleverly. Clarke being a villain, however, was much less of a satisfying reveal. I like twist villains just as much as the next person, but when there is absolutely no foreshadowing or hints as to them being the villain, I just find it annoying.
The worldbuilding was super unique and, at first, I was a bit overwhelmed by it, but it made sense fairly quickly. I enjoyed how it had a fantasy feel while also being connected to a modern world in a way that didn’t feel forced.
Overall, this book was fun and I definitely enjoyed the second half better than the first. My favorite character was probably Briar or Jin.
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Deadnaming and Transphobia