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leweylibrary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, Classism, Violence, Bullying, Police brutality, Rape, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Body horror, Slavery, and Suicide attempt
angelbabe_cj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Murder, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Medical content, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Slavery, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Racism, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Physical abuse
discarded_dust_jacket'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
4.0
I feel like I should have a bunch of really thoughtful reactions to this story, since thereās obviously so much going on thematically, but more than anything I just feel like my brain is stuck on the buffering screen, lol.
I loved the premiseāan enormous space vessel acting as a sort of Noahās ark, harboring a human population fleeing earth in search of the proverbial promised land. I appreciated the autistic, intersex, trans/non-binary, and asexual representation, as well as the allegorical interpretation of the antebellum south.
I struggled a little bit with some of the dense āscience-yā terminology and just ended up skimming a lot of it, assuming Iād be able to get the gist. I had a similar issue when I tried to visualize some of the things described (in particular, the fields where lowerdeck workers harvest crops). The only other thing that threw me off sometimes was the quick jumps around through time, and not being able to sure when a āflashbackā is being described and at what point have we jumped to the present again.
Other than that I really enjoyed this book, especially the second half. Itās beautifully-written, and the characters are nuanced and richly crafted.
Graphic: Death of parent, Murder, Racism, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Classism, Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Rape, Homophobia, and Sexual violence
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Abortion, and Gun violence
rcsreads's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
The story of Aster learning about her mother through the journals she left behind started out so well and then kind of got lost later. We just dropped it for the middle of the book and then it reappeared at the end with a lot of solutions which clearly happened off page.
I could see why Giselle was there to show us the effects of trauma but i have no idea why she was Aster's friend, she seemed to hate her a lot and they had nothing in common apart from living on the same floor of the massive ship. I have no idea what the Lieutenants motives were, he was a cartoon villain who just decided one day that a random child was his nemesis and he was going to mess with her for the rest of his life.
It was very readable and I enjoyed it but this review seems to think otherwise...
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, War, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Stalking
laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Torture, Grief, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Violence, Abortion, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Death, Medical content, Rape, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Child abuse and Transphobia
jdianm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Vomit, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Murder, Blood, Confinement, Death, Torture, Rape, Racism, Physical abuse, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Police brutality
Minor: Death of parent, Abortion, Gun violence, and Domestic abuse
pearlpool'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
4.5
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Hate crime, Transphobia, Rape, Self harm, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Mental illness, Homophobia, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, Deadnaming, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Abortion, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Violence, Torture, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Blood
cowboyaj's review against another edition
4.0
However, if you do read this book I would highly encourage reading the content warnings first. It doesn't hold back on harsher topics, though I think that quality makes the book much stronger.
My few disappointments of the book was the (romance?) and the ending. I honestly had such a difficult time discerning if Theo and Aster were romantically involved or not. Their relationship felt like it was fluctuating constantly and it just felt too surface level compared to the other themes of the book. For me, the ending wasn't satisfying. Though I don't always need a happy ending, the ending just didn't give me any relief from all the build up that happened from the beginning of the story.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Slavery, Violence, and Torture
Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, Suicide, Abortion, Colonisation, Murder, and Child death
Minor: Blood, Gun violence, Vomit, and Transphobia
oworthyfool'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: Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Vomit, Dysphoria, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, Child abuse, Classism, Murder, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Colonisation, Confinement, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abortion, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, and Excrement
alexashabit'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
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Medical content, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Vomit, Eating disorder, Gore, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Blood, Classism, and Murder