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ctara2123's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Really cute! A fun adventure. Really enjoyed the Princess Bride vibes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
doahdancer's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
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
Sanderson has done it again. I continually find myself blown away and delighted by his ability to build fantastic worlds and tell a story as thrilling as it is meaningful. This time, it happens to also be filled with wit and charm.
I love Princess Bride and would happily see this book turned into a film as well. It was very satisfying to witness what would have happened had Buttercup worked up the courage to find her love for herself.
I love Princess Bride and would happily see this book turned into a film as well. It was very satisfying to witness what would have happened had Buttercup worked up the courage to find her love for herself.
Content Warnings
Minor: Vomit, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Blood, and Body horror
angorarabbit's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
relaxing
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? No
2.5
TLDR: The writing style wasn’t for me. The world building was interesting.
Context: This was the second library book I put on hold in my quest for the Series Pioneer Kindle Challenge.
This book and I got off on the wrong foot. First there is a comment, “The girl wondered why men so often used food to describe women’s features.” This is in context of using food to describe the colour of her hair. Which instantly made me wonder about orange, chestnut, apple green, apple red, apricot, plum, peach, beet red, etc. Mind you we are also told her birth name and then, the nickname she got because of her hair is what she is called the entire book.
Then we are told that Tress is the only girl who is like everyone else. “The other girls were obviously right, as they all knew how to be unique-they were so good at it, in fact, that they did it together.” And indeed we never meet any of these other girls. We are told of no one in Tress’ peer group except for one boy.
So in one go we get the “not like other girls” and objectification by way of claiming not to be doing either.
The e-book also had a few illustrations. Tress is in most of these and her hair seems to be changing lengths, honey blonde not medium brown, and not at all wild and untameable.
The writing style also grated a bit. It reads like a bed time story for a little girl whose auntie wants to make sure she learns the right lessons.It gets downright preachy at times. There is way to much telling and not nearly enough showing.
There is one thing I really liked. Several characters have disabilities. They use aids and are respected members of their communities. In particular there is a very good paragraph regarding the difficulty of lip reading. The portrayal of people with disabilities is all to rare in fiction particularly in fantasy.
I have read this is not Mr Sanderson’s usual writing style so I will probably pick up another of his books sometime in the future to read. I am thankful to my library having this one available so I didn’t spend $14.99 on it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Blood
piratesnatnurdock's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Medical content
Moderate: Death and Abandonment
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, Death, Murder, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Blood and Trafficking
aely's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
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? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Violence, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Child abuse
jolineliest's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Blood, and Confinement
Minor: Vomit, Gun violence, Excrement, Grief, Sexism, Cannibalism, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
seforana's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Gore, Grief, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, and Physical abuse
maddie_can_read's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really enjoyed a lot of the aspects of this story:
- Whimsical
- Fairytale adjacent without being very young
- Writing/ storytelling style
- Humour and the random tangents (reminded me of Hitchhiker's)
- Characterization
- World-building
- Lots of well developed female characters
- Disability inclusion, they had a Deaf sensitivity/ representation reader, so cool!
What I didn't love:
- I didn't find the actual story that compelling after about chapter 8.
When I realized Tress was staying on the ship the entire novel and the story was going to go pretty predictably - she's obviously going to go get Charlie and have some form of happily ever after - Lack of tension
- Felt the pace could've been faster/ the pace was a little inconsistent/ slogged a bit after chapter 8
This was my first Sanderson novel so I'm definitely going to check out some more as I've heard they vary a lot in tone.
We want to imagine that people are consistent, steady, stable. We define who they are, create descriptions to lock them on a page, divide them up by their likes, talents, beliefs. Then we pretend some—perhaps most—are better than we are, because they stick to their definitions, while we never quite fit ours. Truth is, people are as fluid as time is. We adapt to our situation like water in a strangely shaped jug, though it might take us a little while to ooze into all the little nooks. Because we adapt, we sometimes don’t recognize how twisted, uncomfortable, or downright wrong the container is that we’ve been told to inhabit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore
Moderate: Death, Murder, Slavery, Classism, and Vomit
Minor: Body horror and Gore
malalaisee's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Ableism, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail