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calicokingdom's review against another edition
4.0
i loved this book, it reminded me of a celeste ng family drama. the ending was very hard for me to read and i think a few aspects were unnecessary and only added to shock value. with that being said, i know i won't be able to stop thinking about this for the next few weeks, so it gets a 4 even though i'm wavering.
egc2ab's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
actuallyahorsereads's review against another edition
3.0
I wish this had focused more on the horse side of things instead of the people side of things but alas, that was not the case. This book had a lot of important conversations but I feel like no one was actually acting like a normal person would and there were no decent parents to be found in this whole book and it was irritating as heck. I absolutely loved all the imagery though.
tcu3's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
walmartyr's review
1.0
This book droned on for what truly felt like forever. The story was boring, the setting--boring and the characters were BORING.
No idea what the theme or the point of the entire story was attempting to be...but regardless it was 100% boring.
Don't waste your time.
No idea what the theme or the point of the entire story was attempting to be...but regardless it was 100% boring.
Don't waste your time.
sarahlopod's review
5.0
The thing about trauma is that even after it is over, it is still happening. It is a memory in motion, forever present.
disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from NetGalley and the publisher in exchange for review consideration. All of the opinions presented below are my own. Quotes have been taken from the advanced copy and are subject to change upon publication.
This review can also be found on my blog.
This absolutely devastated me. Kate Milliken has been without a doubt added to my must-read list of authors. Kept Animals is a novel about so many things: grief, toxic relationships, trauma, sexuality. I feel like it's impossible to pin my thoughts on this down. I found it compelling from the start, but the deeper into the story I got, the more impossible it was to stop reading. I felt such an incredible depth of emotion reading this, and even cried at the end. It was quiet, but there was an underlying tension throughout reminiscent of a thriller -- we are, after all, trying to find out what happened on one fateful day in 1993. All I can really say is: I highly recommend this if you're interested in a dark, depressing, queer literary novel.
content warnings: drunk driving; child death; both casual and violent homophobia; sexual assault; racism and xenophobia; parental neglect; substance abuse.
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danapr's review
4.0
Most of this story takes place in 1993 in Topanga Canyon in California and centers around a group of teenagers who live near or ride horses on a ranch there. The author skillfully creates each character’s personality and the complicated relationships amongst the teens themselves and with their parents. Brief parts of the story fast-forward to 2015 and a ranch in Wyoming in which a young woman who is the daughter of one of the teenagers struggles with trying to figure out who she is and what happened to destroy Topanga Canyon in 1993. The story builds in intensity feeding the reader bits of information to keep reading to find out all the events that happened on a single night to dramatically change so many lives. My only criticism is that the ending seemed too rushed after the slow buildup and almost a little too obscure. My thanks to Scribner Books for the Goodreads giveaway!