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gt_22'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? It's complicated
5.0
Minor: Blood and Violence
novella42'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, and Animal death
Moderate: Body horror, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death and Transphobia
cat12345'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Sexism, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Confinement
kurumipanda'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
5.0
Moderate: Gore, Sexism, Bullying, Blood, and Animal death
Minor: Violence
shelbyl'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death and Blood
vaguely_pink'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Sexism, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Kidnapping and Transphobia
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Injury/Injury detail
gabuwu'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
Moderate: Blood
instalovewithbooks'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
3.25
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Blood
readaloud_mom'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
4.5
As noted by other reviewers, Aster seems to be some variety of gender-noncomforming/genderqueer/nonbinary/etc., though the book never declares a specific identity. (I have mixed feelings, but am basically cool with the lack of name; I feel like it works with the worldbuilding that Aster wouldn't have the language to talk about his identity, I know I sure didn't when I was his age).
There is also some quiet queer-parenting rep here - on the family tree, I can see that Aster has an aunt who is married to another woman, and his friend Charlie has two dads. I would have liked to ever actually SEE Charlie's two dads, and I would have liked to see the married aunts interacting. For instance, one of the stolen cousins has two moms, and the other two stolen cousins are brothers with a mom and a dad. We see the mom and dad hugging each other and Bearing Up Bravely and so on, but we don't get those same kinds of images with the two-mom family - I actually wonder a little bit about whether all of the queer parents were added to the story at the last minute, after much of the drawing was done? (FYI, subsequent books in this series remain pretty light on the aunts, but do introduce Charlie's dads as visible background characters.)
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, and Kidnapping