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midwichtriffid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Bullying, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Slavery, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Blood, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Torture, and Violence
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
booksjessreads'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
5.0
I will admit that it took me about 2-3 chapters to fully get going. I listened to the audiobook and I also felt like whilst I was listening in the first couple of chapters, I did miss key details about the world-building, but just continued listening. I felt like as I went through the story, this didn't matter too much and I thought I had a good grip of the world by the middle of the book. I have bought a physical copy so that next time I read, I read the print copy to annotate those extra details.
Genuinely, the conjunction between structural racism and generational ships in Matilda was my favourite part about the whole thing and thought the crafting of this world was done extremely well. I saw some 'critics reviews' that said the 'many layers of metaphor' and 'worldbuilding by poetry' disappointed readers that wanted hard science fiction, but this is what I loved most. The poetic language only heightened the worldbuilding and reading between the lines made it all the more real for the reader. Although, I understand this is not to everyone's taste.
I am of the opinion of other reviews where the ending does feel slightly rushed and there were some things that could have been explored in some more depth for me, but I still really enjoyed the story anyway! I felt the pace really picks up about half way through, and that it was a very packed ending in the last few chapters.
It is very rare I want a book to be longer, but I wish it was so that there could be so many more things added. I thought the book was excellent as it was anyway, not just because of the worldbuilding, but the ending, for me, was unexpected. I just wish that themes could have been explored more. I just never really wanted the book to end.
I would recommend this book 100%! I think it was an amazing experience, especially listening to the audio as it just brought everything to life. Before reading though, please read the trigger warnings, as there are a lot of graphic triggers in this book.
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Rape, Physical abuse, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Infertility, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Suicide
necromandy'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
Graphic: Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, Ableism, Death, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Cursing, Confinement, Classism, Blood, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Infertility
madradstarchild's review
- 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: Medical content, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Abortion, Rape, Sexism, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I really wish I could handle finishing this, but I just can't.
Graphic: Violence, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Racism, Slavery, Police brutality, Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Ableism, Homophobia, Cursing, Abortion, Mental illness, Blood, Infertility, Child abuse, and Cancer
Minor: Transphobia, Dementia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Death of parent, Self harm, and Fire/Fire injury
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
peachani'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: Body shaming, Classism, Genocide, Physical abuse, Violence, Bullying, Transphobia, Death, Lesbophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Genocide, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Misogyny, Chronic illness, and Confinement
Minor: Dysphoria, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Ableism, Death of parent, Gore, Infertility, Medical trauma, War, Child abuse, and Slavery
sarah_bookshelf'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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Racism, and Slavery
Moderate: War, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
solenodon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Child death, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Colonisation, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Ableism, Classism, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Body shaming, Mental illness, Self harm, Transphobia, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Racial slurs, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Alcohol