Scan barcode
sullivc5's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Death
Minor: Torture, Domestic abuse, Rape, Miscarriage, and Suicide
ejs2000's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Death, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Grief, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Racism, Police brutality, Classism, Abortion, Blood, Transphobia, Sexism, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Rape, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation
Minor: Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual content, Fire/Fire injury, and Cultural appropriation
laurenaf'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
3.25
My biggest problem with this book is I had a lot of difficulty with that immersion aspect. Unlike other books I’ve read, I can easily imagine the setting or the characters. And while the author has great descriptions, I still wasn’t able to picture a lot of what was happening.
While I loved the characters, they are also detached from the reader in a way, where you know a little about them but not enough to create a connection.
For me, this book was only a 3 star until I got to the last quarter of the book where a majority of the action took place, which also could have been elongated.
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Incest, Rape, and Suicide
cassielaj'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
4.5
Graphic: Medical trauma, Misogyny, Gun violence, Infertility, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Blood, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Murder, Racism, Sexism, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Rape, Abortion, Animal death, and Self harm
Minor: Incest
capybooks'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Racism, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Violence, and Cursing
Moderate: Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Self harm
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape
hmatt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Storytelling
I feel like the author was trying to fit too many events into too short of a narrative. This might have been okay, but there were so many minor events that I think we should have spent less time on, and a number of climactic events that we spent barely any time on whatsoever. A lot of these major events "fade to black" as soon as the action starts, and then we are caught up on what happened in retrospect later on - I was REALLY not a fan of this technique, and I don't think it made sense for the "western" genre.
Character-building
We do get a lot of information on most of the characters but, again, it's almost too much for how short of a book it is. What we lose out on, in my opinion, is a more profound emotional connection with the main character. We don't really dwell on her losses or feel them with her, which is extra strange given the whole novel is told in first-person.
TL;DR
The idea behind the novel is fantastic, but it tries to fit too much in. The concepts it seeks to explore are really only half-fleshed-out and the characters are hard to relate to, simply because the plot moves on too fast to hold space for these introspections.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Medical content, Infidelity, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, Violence, Murder, Infertility, Sexual violence, Racism, Police brutality, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Torture, Sexism, Pregnancy, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Gore, Miscarriage, and Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Confinement, Transphobia, Classism, Gore, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal death and Drug abuse
CWs non-exhaustivecheye13'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
4.0
That being said, I don't think western stories are really for me? There's always such a deep pain and/or hopelessness within them that never seems to hit my catharsis button. This one came very close with each of the outlaw's backstories, but the ultimate plot just left me with, "Well. Okay."
This was definitely my favorite western I've ever read, though. Leagues above.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Misogyny, and Infertility
Moderate: Pregnancy, Grief, Blood, Abortion, Confinement, Miscarriage, and Homophobia
Minor: Ableism, Rape, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
ableism wrt: implied bipolar disorder (or perhaps other psychosis), implied post partum depression medical/injury content wrt: gunshot wounds, childbirth & miscarriage, castration, hypothermia, various illnessesabominablesnowaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexism, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Rape
breadwitchery'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
5.0
Graphic: Infertility, Death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Misogyny, Mental illness, Gun violence, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content, Miscarriage, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Abortion, and Medical content
Minor: Alcohol, Infidelity, Slavery, Animal death, Rape, Incest, and Death of parent
itsdanibee'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gun violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Death, Racism, and Infidelity
Minor: Abortion, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, and Suicide attempt