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stevia333k's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
This book gave me Katniss Everdeen vibes, and that was definitely a thing I would think about as I read this book. I liked the setting a lot, communing with the other life forms etc. Like doing prayers at parks instead of schools is more my vibe so.
I was told this book was very feminist & that was helpful. I thought the book might've been poly but it wasn't. Like one of the boyfriends ended up being a self-centered rapist.
Anyways, I actually thought she was black until I thought about the school scene & was like wait a minute the schools were segregated back then. The discussion of desegregation if business towards the end was awkward because that's not desegregation of homes, but whatever.
Anyway, she's white. The title for this book in Spanish calls her "savaje", a savage. Thankfully there's no cultural appropriation of native/indigenous Americans, but still keep an eye on that in discussions about this book because that would end up putting a bunch of racist stereotypes on people. But that would be more the fault of the readers I think.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual violence, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Murder
jfield351's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For me, it did not live up to the hype because I was able to guess the ending quite early on.
Graphic: Abandonment and Child abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War
saurahsaurus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I think that this type of racism (White Savior and ever-so-grateful Black people who cannot be the architects of their own salvation) is inherently harmful, but bearing the author’s personal history in mind, it takes on a new level of sinisterness. It reeks of White guilt and fragility, and bears entirely too much resemblance to the author’s life to be coincidence.
I previously gave this book a 2.75, but it truly deserves a zero for the author’s real life sins.
Original review: The author has such a distinct style of writing, and her prose can be strikingly beautiful—intermittently simple and abstruse. However, I have two main issues with this book. Chiefly, I felt like certain aspects of this book weren’t consistent in conveying the social mores of the time, or their severity. I understand that racial inequality is difficult to convey and a sensitive topic, but I always have to wonder why an author chooses a time period in which this is a salient issue, only to not effectively capture its essence. It very much felt like a White person trying to portray the experience of Black Americans at the time. For instance, despite being a small and deeply segregated town,
My second main issue was the ending. Massive spoiler ahead.
Anyway, I enjoyed parts of this book but I don’t see myself re-reading it. There are so many books out there, and I’m almost frustrated that I spent time reading this one.
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Stalking
Minor: Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery
A note on the sexual violence and harassment tags, which contains a significant spoiler but is not detailed:ajourneythroughpages'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
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death, Racism, Rape, and Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Grief
bookishgoob'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence
oliviafaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence