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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I might finish it in the future, but it was really sending me into a reading slump. I liked it. It just wasn't the right book for me at the moment.
This is about family and all of these characters were incredibly well written. This is also about hopelessness and hope. There weren't very many sharks, but you do get Hawaiian legends!
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Colonisation
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts
slow-paced
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I wanted to love this one. Objectively, it's a good book. The characters are complicated and real and feel tangible in a way that's rare. The magical realism was beautiful and mystical. I appreciated learning a bit about Hawaiian culture and myth and that the island played a very real part in the novel, and there was even natural feeling LGBTQ representation which I always appreciate. In other words, there are a lot of good things about this book. That said, I just didn't like reading it, and for me, that's important. This book was gritty and crude and the realism overshadowed the folklore in a way that made the death and violence and poverty feel washed out and sad which then made ME feel washed out and sad. I think that was largely the point, but I was unable to move past the way it made me feel to really appreciate it.