Reviews with content warning for Violence - Open Throat

I read this book for a class, but I really enjoyed it. It wasn’t hard to get through, the only thing that slowed me down was the ending that I had known was coming. This made me sort of sad to read it but didn’t completely ruin the experience. I enjoyed the writing style and the POV of an animal is something I do a lot in my own writing so I enjoyed that as well. This novel was well researched, and did a good job of showing things how we think an animal would see them. It’s not something I would have picked up on my own, but it was really good.

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woolerys's review against another edition

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dark funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

Writing - 5/5

Plot - 3/5

Characters - 4/5

Setting - 5/5

TOTAL: 4.25

The strength of this book is the poetry. I am kind of biased against stories told in free verse after reading too many in a row as an adolescent, so the fact that I liked that aspect of it is noteworthy. Here’s a tiny excerpt that made me laugh, as an example:

where there are therapists running around

everywhere like deer and I can just find one and

catch it and pin it down

store it somewhere safe and visit it once a week

I thought the first half or so was strongest, and felt less compelled by the subplot with "little Slaughter," but to each their own.

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mhh831666's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

this is PERFECTION. the cougar is so damn endearing and eloquent and believable as a storyteller despite being unable to express himself with words. I highlighted entire chapters at a time (granted the chapters were quite brief but still). also made me hate humans even more than usual but they for sure deserve it (in this book and irl tbh). long live big cats everywhere!

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