You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
I love Lauren Geoff but this is too fable-like for me
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
tense
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
My favourite Geoff novel is Arcadia, a story of a family that starts an idealistic school which, like all Edenic endeavours, fails. This is a cousin story, I think, of an indentured servant of Jamestown fleeing from starvation, plague, and bondage. We live near her head throughout the story, as she communes with nature but also fights it off, as she hides from the unmans who would use her in one way or another. Her ending is the book’s ending as well. It is both starvation and feast of description, armchair tourism of virgin forest that we do not get the comfort of enjoying from behind glass.
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence
adventurous
dark
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is a great book, but it is not a style I usually enjoy.
A perfect novel from start to finish — thrilling, lyrical, sweeping and small at the same time.
adventurous
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
reflective
sad
medium-paced
This book was excellent, but incredibly sad. There are many portrayals of abuse, sexual violence, and a little bit of graphic violence. I'm not sure that I would recommend it to folks, but it did a great job in accurately portraying the colonial period and interpersonal dynamics at the time. There are a couple of details in the book which I might quibble with, but over all, it was well done. However, I didn't get something out of the violence and sad vibes. In general, I only recommend sad novels if they have a compelling message and I didn't see a coherent one in this.
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book began what felt like an adventure of a girl escaping into the wild. As the book read on a much darker story unfolded. It became clear that the story was much more complex and told a tale of a girl who had an immensely difficult life filled with so much darkness, grief, death and loss. As the story ended I was surprised slightly by the meaning of the story telling but also content with the ending. I was gifted this book by a friend and although I wouldn’t have chosen it for myself I do believe it was an important read to remind yourself about the fragility of life, the beauty of nature and the sickness, death and destruction colonialism brought upon the land and the people that lived upon it.