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orion'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: Hate crime, Blood, Child death, Police brutality, Racism, Ableism, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Violence, Emotional abuse, Murder, Rape, Self harm, War, Classism, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Grief, Medical content, Torture, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Death of parent and Cursing
nagev's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Abortion, Classism, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, and Confinement
Moderate: Pregnancy, Police brutality, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Bullying, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Blood, Abandonment, Torture, Transphobia, Rape, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Vomit, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Grief
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Alcohol
rmperezpadilla's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Self harm, Slavery, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Child death, Classism, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Lesbophobia, and Abortion
Moderate: Rape and Death of parent
sofipitch'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Trafficking, Police brutality, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Homophobia, Abortion, Classism, Death of parent, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, and Suicide
lanid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abortion, Confinement, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Police brutality, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Violence, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Self harm
Minor: Child death and Body shaming
jessthanthree'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: Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Mental illness, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, Confinement, Classism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child death, Violence, Suicide, Slavery, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical content, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, and Rape
Moderate: Bullying, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Gore, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Pedophilia, Incest, and Fire/Fire injury
mazomazli'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
I would like to inform anyone who has or will compare this to the Handmaid’s Tale that you are incorrect for doing so. I highly recommend any form of nonfiction on the realities of people who were enslaved in the US so you understand that the things read in this book happened often to real people. I would also say it pulls from actual history similarly like the Poppy War trilogy where that author pulled accounts from survivors of the Rape of Nanjing to put directly in. I also might say that like the Poppy War, the real history was toned down a little meaning the events in this book are still not as cruel as the real worlds.
Here’s a long and incomplete list of topics addressed throughout the book: being autistic in a world that is quick to do violence to you and trying to navigate it, what people do to survive constant sexual assault and rape, child on child sexual abuse after both experiencing and witnessing so much, physical abuse and violence at every turn, the stories told amongst those who are surviving to hold each other up, a character who is white passing and trying to help those oppressed, police brutality (literally overseers are the origins of cops), and a character with psychosis/paranoia (perhaps schizophrenia) with lots of self harm.
There are so many things I think of between the way Aster tries to always be prepared for when violence comes for her, how Giselle was both vibrant and subdued and so complicated, and the way Theo presents himself and how his uncle likely had abused him as a child and he does not remember. I feel so much for Giselle. It is very uncommon to see a severely mentally ill character depicted so realistically - at the end of the day she wasn’t the big scary danger to every one else. The majority of the violence she did was against herself or objects.
This is definitely a check if you’re in the headspace before you try this, but I think it’s worth it.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Gun violence, Religious bigotry, Racism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Police brutality, and Rape
Moderate: Transphobia, Child abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Homophobia
nautilus18's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Abortion, Medical content, Physical abuse, Ableism, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lilaceous's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
plot -
engaging to read - ⭐️
would recommend -
would read again -
i wanted to like this novel, but to me, it just fell so flat in so many ways.
the characters were well-developed and painfully engaging, but it isn’t enough to make this novel worth reading in my opinion. even the queer and trans representation felt more harmful than positive to me.
in terms of plot, the ending felt so out of the blue that i couldn’t even make sense of what the point of the rest of the plot was. so many things happened, but it felt like there was never a clear goal, even at the end.
also, the sci-fi elements of this piece added almost nothing to the story.
Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual assault, Slavery, Rape, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
tahsintries's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Grief, Homophobia, Bullying, Medical content, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, Ableism, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Torture, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse