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blewballoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
Gonna get a bit more "political" than I typically do, since this is a quite "political" book. If you are the type of person who asks yourself "I don't know, I feel like the stuff JK Rowling says in her tweets isn't that big a deal?" and you are genuinely curious to know why it is a big deal, then this might be a good book to help explain it to you. If you are a TERF, you will hate this book. I didn't like this book either, but not for that reason. I didn't like this book in the same ways I didn't like The City We Became by N.K. Jemisin: dwelling on the power that racists/sexists/homophobes/transphobes/etc have just bums me out. I know things suck. I read to remind myself that sometimes people don't suck. I read to keep myself from falling into a pit of despair about the state of the world. Apart from Niamh, Theo, and Holly, I didn't really like any of the characters. I absolutely hated the ending. I felt like I knew what was coming the whole time and just wanted it to be over. I gave it 3 stars because of the intention, the world-building, the setting, and there were some funny lines. I don't think this is a bad book, it just didn't suit me even though I agree with its message. The narrator for the audiobook was really fantastic, I'll be looking for more books narrated by them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Death, and Animal death
Moderate: Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Drug use, War, and Sexual assault
kaleidoscope_heart's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Transphobia, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Car accident, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
hjcomic's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
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? No
4.75
This book made me stay up til 2am under the bed covers like I was a kid again! Gripping, magical and the Spice Girls - it's awesome! Can't wait til the sequel!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: War, Violence, and Transphobia
Minor: Sexual assault
bethsreading's review against another edition
dark
funny
medium-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? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault
francesturpin's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: War
Minor: Sexual assault
tyches_dice's review
adventurous
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I… don’t think I liked this book. It is a little hard to untangle, because the book is saying things that I agree with, but it is saying them poorly. It took a long time to get into the book and I don’t think characterization was done particularly well - the characters all felt surface level, and Helena was baffling. Leonie was criminally underused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Sexual assault
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