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arayo's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Suicide, Medical content, Homophobia, Bullying, Gun violence, Blood, Child death, Gore, War, Mental illness, Death, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcohol, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Classism, Outing, Cursing, Antisemitism, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Vomit, Excrement, Xenophobia, and Sexism
mikkiokko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
War is depicted painfully accurate here. At times it is horribly difficult to read, but it sheds an important light on its reality and helps you empathize with the complexities of each character. Each character, down to the smallest and bleakest ones are also handled with extreme car. Every soldier, every family member, every student at Preshute, felt so incredibly real. It brought life to the soldiers who died in a senseless war, and framed them as individuals that cannot be defined simply by a number of casualties and wounded. Furthermore, I appreciate how Winn handled the end and the deeply painful and complex reality of war after it is over.
I am a reader that has a hard time with romance, I care for Ellwood and Gaunt so deeply that I don't have many words for it. It is hard to believe they are not real with how well written they are.
I will always be thinking about this book. Please read it. Thank you Winn for your story.
Graphic: Death, War, and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
ellislilylovestoread's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Body horror, Gun violence, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders and Death of parent
oliverlang'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
5.0
(I was thinking about the rating of this as I went and it only kept climbing so I'm defaulting to 5 stars for the minute. We shall see if my eventual reread upholds this.)
This was stunning and incredibly managed to capture the guts and brutality of the front lines of war while also providing moments of light and warmth.
I'm on a constant quest for stories with "old-timey queers" and this delivered exactly what I wanted.
Not really a spoiler, could potentially be described as an anti-content warning but just incase you like to go in knowing nothing about what to expect:
I also really like when multiple languages come together and this book gave me French, German and Greek so that was very nice.
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, War, Gore, Grief, Confinement, Body horror, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Blood, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
kimmag92'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Murder, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Outing, Self harm, Vomit, War, Excrement, Colonisation, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia
zarahzoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: War, Suicidal thoughts, Antisemitism, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Homophobia, Violence, Blood, Bullying, Classism, Gore, and Grief
lcg527'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, War, Death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Blood, Body horror, Violence, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, Medical trauma, Suicide, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt
oliviagouck's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia
trish_reading12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Alice Winn’s writing style creates a vivid portrayal of active battle during WW1.
The character development from young people at boarding school to individuals who had seen too much death and suffering was incredible.
The relationships between the characters feel genuine.
I am looking forward to reading whatever Alice Winn writes next.
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Blood, Classism, Medical content, Violence, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
zoemaleah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Violence, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, War, Body horror, Grief, Homophobia, Blood, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma