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bluejay21'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
Moderate: War, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Transphobia
abbeyroad1410'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
3.75
I want to start with the things I felt the book did exceptionally. To begin, it carries a plot about a transgender boy, Kenye, throughout the novel which is moving and has a happy ending. I find this rare, especially in a historical fiction novel, and I enjoyed the representation in a way that made sense. For people that think this is unrealistic for the time period, I would look into the thirteenth century text Le Roman de Silence by Heldris.
The book also does a great job showing Riva's insecurity with her disability (she is a burn victim) and the pressure she feels from having to be the older, more responsible sister. Dealing with her insecurities gives Riva's character depth, though I will admit she may be the most frustrating character in the book.
This novel is also great at drawing emotion. At the emotional peak,
Now, I want to touch on the things that just generally confused me about the novel, Sistersong. I think my biggest issue with this novel is the fact that there seems to be no rhyme or reason for the magic in it. The novel began with the sisters having specific powers, but by the end, they blurred together and you could also half raise the dead. This is very frustrating.
Additionally, the driver of the main event
Overall, I wouldn't say that I am disappointed with the book. I am mostly just left confused. It was a beautiful adaptation of the Ballad of the Twa Sisters, but at times, it was doing too much.
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, War, and Fire/Fire injury
picaresquedreamer's review
Graphic: Sexism, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Transphobia, Violence, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Religious bigotry
musicalpopcorn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was quite the story. I’m glad I looked up the Twa Sisters beforehand otherwise I think I would have had a massive shock about 3/4 of the way in. The book definitely takes a sharp turn.
I wasn’t all that interested in it to begin with. I didn’t find the story grabbed me, but once it took a darker turn, I definitely felt more inclined to see how it ended.
Interesting idea, so-so execution.
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Fire/Fire injury, and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Violence, Confinement, Deadnaming, Pregnancy, Grief, Transphobia, Murder, and Misogyny
claire_riach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Body shaming, Death of parent, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Misogyny, Pregnancy, and Sexism
careinthelibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
4.0
Didn't expect so much to feel like an honouring of <i>Hild</i> by Nicola Griffith, one of my all-time favourite historical fiction epics. Although <i>Hild</i> takes place in this book's future, it feels like they are referencing the same texts, worldviews, problems, and imaginings of the land. Even the references to the patterns that connect us all to the land felt very Griffith and very <i>Hild</i>! Love it.
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Sexual content, Dysphoria, Death of parent, Grief, Ableism, Violence, War, and Toxic relationship
nightstitch96'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
3.75
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Transphobia, Death, and War
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, and Death of parent
kaleidoscope_heart'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
maeverose's review against another edition
3.0
That being Keyne’s. As a genderqueer person I’m always interested in books with trans rep, and even though I don’t believe this is own voices I thought it was done really well. There is misgendering and transphobia from certain characters throughout, but it’s not a trans trauma story, and there are many characters who accept his identity (tho it does take them a minute to catch on), and his transness isn’t his whole character. It is a bit binary though, feeding into stereotypes of what a man should be, but given the time period it makes sense? So idk. Overall decent rep. (Loved chapter 23)
I didn’t care for Riva’s pov because it was primarily focused on the romance, which I didn’t like, and I didn’t like Sinne’s pov because of the jealousy plotline between her and Riva. I did appreciate that the author didn’t go full on ‘I’m gonna steal your man’ with that plotline but it still annoyed me. Especially because this is trying to be a feminist book but the two women’s povs we get are so tied to this one man and their feelings for him and their new dislike of each other because of it.
I’m also both disabled and disfigured (though in different ways than Riva or Os), and I found the rep in this book was neutral overall. Not offensive but not exactly empowering either. Anytime Reva’s scars were mentioned it was often in a negative context, but we were shown through Riva’s pov her struggles with it and how much it hurt when people did say negative things about it, and there were characters who didn’t treat her any differently because of it. Os’s mutism was handled the same I would say. I did like to see Sinne learn to communicate with him, and I thought their friendship was really sweet. I would just like to see a disfigured/disabled character be confident in their body rather than focusing solely on the negatives of it. My scoliosis has negatives; pain and physical limitations, but I also genuinely like how my body looks, and that seems to be a hard concept for some people to grasp.
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, War, Ableism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Gore, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Animal death, Dysphoria, Lesbophobia, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Vomit, Classism, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Excrement and Rape
The worst of the gore is in chapter 40, but it’s moderate here and there throughout the book.alexsartifacts's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gore, Sexism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and War