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_chelseachelsea'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abortion, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Car accident, Suicide, Death, Child abuse, Dementia, Grief, and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
cdingler07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Child death, Suicide, Self harm, Pregnancy, Mental illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Toxic friendship
Minor: Abortion
lizreaderhold'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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
pizzasprite's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Abortion, and Pregnancy
ms_sarah621's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Grief, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Stalking
Minor: Car accident, Abortion, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Blood, and Self harm
princessdana36'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: Child death and Suicide
Moderate: Abandonment and Infidelity
Minor: Abortion
peachxslime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Death, and Child death
Minor: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Dementia, and Abortion
aaronreadsatad'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Pregnancy, and Mental illness
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Death, Blood, Grief, Drug use, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Cursing, and Violence
Minor: Abortion
saraellenme's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Self harm, and Child abuse
Moderate: Death of parent, Suicide, Car accident, Abandonment, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abortion and Miscarriage
mepresley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This is Blythe's story, and the story of her mother, Cecilia, and Cecilia's mother, Etta. Etta, who was
Blythe has ambivalent feelings about becoming a mother because she does not want to be like her mother, or her mother's mother. She wants to be better but is afraid that she won't be, that she doesn't know how. When Violet is born, Blythe does not feel that immediate bond between mother and child.
The story is told out of chronological order, shifting between Blythe's memories, one short chapter focused on Etta's POV, and seven on Cecilia's childhood, the latter two presented in italics.
Blythe's story contains
I found Blythe to be a very sympathetic character, and--aside from Blythe's "adopted" mom, Leda Ellington, and Gemma--
The extremely clever
Other than my personal preference for chapters that aren't so uniformly short, the only thing that I think would have made this novel better is if there was more doubt about Blythe's sanity/ perspective and Violet as potential psychopath. The only doubt that exists is in Blythe's head, mostly due to the natural denial of a mother and Fox's gaslighting; it's very, very clear that Violet is guilty, which takes some of the wind out of the sails of her eventual window confession. Also, I do really wish that had gotten the details about what happened to Jet & what the aftermath of that looked like, but I fully recognize that the ending Audrain chose is more powerful than the details I longer to get, and that my very desire for those details is testament to Audrain's storytelling / my investment in her narrative.
Graphic: Abortion, Mental illness, Grief, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Infidelity and Death of parent
Minor: Self harm