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dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
im fucking crying. im fucking crying.
not over the plot. over the thinks theis fucking book says about living. kill me now!!! i am so insane!!! i put this book down atleast twice because it was so REAL!!!
not over the plot. over the thinks theis fucking book says about living. kill me now!!! i am so insane!!! i put this book down atleast twice because it was so REAL!!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Torture, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic
this one is CRAZY. please please please read at your own risk ...
dark
emotional
hopeful
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A moving, horrifying post-apocalyptic story. Religious trauma: the book. Heavy-handed allegory for transness woven seamlessly with horror and pain. I wish I had read this book as a teen. I found the ending (last 1/3 of the book, really) felt a bit rushed and the story minorly suffered because of it, but still enjoyed it. LONG CW list, read the whole list before you dive into this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Self harm, Transphobia, Religious bigotry
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
SUPER GOOD BOOK! As a person of the lgbtq community the author really connects with me. The only issue was that in the middle of the book it started to become super fast paced and seemed to skip important parts of a relationship (the characters suddenly really liked each other)
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Transphobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Body horror and religious trauma. What more could you ask for? Never seen myself more in a book, definitely one of my favorite books
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Dysphoria
Minor: Sexual content
dark
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Enjoyed parts of this book but was very confusing at times. I think world building could have been expanded on a bit (I felt that the Flood was explained very briefly despite being a massive part of the story?). Some of the characters felt quite flat as well(e.g. Benji’s mother who just seemed to smile a bit and misgender him and Benji’s dad who seems to have been important to him but is barely mentioned)
I enjoyed the found family aspect of the ALC but again the characters felt flat and very watered down to just their identities? For example Salvador has no personality or backstory and seems to just exist so that the author can have a character who uses xe/xem pronouns (it feels very token-y). It’s even crazier when you think about how xey are a part of The Watch (one of the most important groups of people in the book) and yet still isn’t fleshed out.
I also felt that the Benji and Nick romance subplot (if you can even call it that) was so irrelevant and uninteresting to the story. Like Benji finding out that Nick was part of the Angels should’ve been a bonding moment for them but it didn’t seem to have much of an impact other than explaining Nick’s combat skills.
Interesting concept. Poor execution.
I enjoyed the found family aspect of the ALC but again the characters felt flat and very watered down to just their identities? For example Salvador has no personality or backstory and seems to just exist so that the author can have a character who uses xe/xem pronouns (it feels very token-y). It’s even crazier when you think about how xey are a part of The Watch (one of the most important groups of people in the book) and yet still isn’t fleshed out.
I also felt that the Benji and Nick romance subplot (if you can even call it that) was so irrelevant and uninteresting to the story. Like Benji finding out that Nick was part of the Angels should’ve been a bonding moment for them but it didn’t seem to have much of an impact other than explaining Nick’s combat skills.
Interesting concept. Poor execution.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gore, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry
challenging
dark
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Death of parent
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Transphobia
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcohol
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I decided to read this book after a few of my friends got SUPER into it, like constantly taking about it and rereading it.
I found that it wasn't quite as good as they said it to be, but I will begin with what I liked about it because there is quite a bit to be said about it that is good!
I think the author writes very beautifully, the words and phrases are so well picked and the flow of the text is gorgeous, which was one of the reasons I finished reading it, 5 stars for the quality of the writing!!
I also found the world and premises the author created quite interesting! The book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, and i wanted to learn more about what had happened and how things worked in their new everyday lives.
Finally, I found the main-character's experiences and thoughts quite relatable, which may also be why I wasn't so fond of him, because it wasn't something new, but this book also helped me learn a bit about myself, and reflect on and realize a bit more about my beliefs and how I think, which perhaps wasn't as interesting as say, seeing the world from a new point of view, but it was a good experience and the author wrote those bits very well too!
There was a lot of diversity in the characters which was also very interesting, and I really enjoyed the bits from Nick's point of view, because I rarely get to read about characters like him!
The characters weren't very well written, it felt like you never got to know them, and there was barely any character development which made it a bit boring, as Benji always thinks the same miserable way. I think also because of the circumstances in which the main cast lived in, everyone was tired and a bit depressed, and to add on top of all that, grieving a death from the start of the book. (I will add though, that perhaps the negative feelings coming from the characters is quite realistic for their situation and all,) It was just too much and it felt like you never got to know the characters very well. which made it a harder read.
There was also a lot of gore, which in a book I'm usually pretty ok with but it was just so much, and like all the time there was bits of body falling off here and vomiting up organs there, so if you don't like that much gore all the time this might not be fore you...
I found that it wasn't quite as good as they said it to be, but I will begin with what I liked about it because there is quite a bit to be said about it that is good!
I think the author writes very beautifully, the words and phrases are so well picked and the flow of the text is gorgeous, which was one of the reasons I finished reading it, 5 stars for the quality of the writing!!
I also found the world and premises the author created quite interesting! The book takes place in a post-apocalyptic world, and i wanted to learn more about what had happened and how things worked in their new everyday lives.
Finally, I found the main-character's experiences and thoughts quite relatable, which may also be why I wasn't so fond of him, because it wasn't something new, but this book also helped me learn a bit about myself, and reflect on and realize a bit more about my beliefs and how I think, which perhaps wasn't as interesting as say, seeing the world from a new point of view, but it was a good experience and the author wrote those bits very well too!
There was a lot of diversity in the characters which was also very interesting, and I really enjoyed the bits from Nick's point of view, because I rarely get to read about characters like him!
The characters weren't very well written, it felt like you never got to know them, and there was barely any character development which made it a bit boring, as Benji always thinks the same miserable way. I think also because of the circumstances in which the main cast lived in, everyone was tired and a bit depressed, and to add on top of all that, grieving a death from the start of the book. (I will add though, that perhaps the negative feelings coming from the characters is quite realistic for their situation and all,) It was just too much and it felt like you never got to know the characters very well. which made it a harder read.
There was also a lot of gore, which in a book I'm usually pretty ok with but it was just so much, and like all the time there was bits of body falling off here and vomiting up organs there, so if you don't like that much gore all the time this might not be fore you...
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Gore, Transphobia, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence, Medical content
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
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
As a trans former Christian this made me feel a lot of things. The way Nick's autism Is written is also super relatable.
I do wish there had been more falling action at the end, another chapter or an epilogue so we could see where these kids end up beyond having to be soldiers for survival.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gun violence, Transphobia, Violence, Religious bigotry
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
LOOOOOVED this book very much. It had a fantastic premise and plot and twists that made me GASP like absolutely fantastic story. My ONE critique is that it's very "baby gay" vibes which I don't love, it gives queer people an odd portrayal that I'm not a huge fan of however that's a very small issue and I think it's far made up for by the INCREDIBLE PLOT
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Physical abuse, Sexual assault