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emsim's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, and Death
Moderate: Racism, Sexual harassment, Confinement, Kidnapping, Car accident, Colonisation, and Gaslighting
tree_star's review against another edition
5.0
I loved this book. I was drawn into the story from the start and kept getting sucked in further and further and actually holding my breath there at the end-!
Scary but unexpected in its execution, the Monster discovery is thrilling, mysterious, and intrepid.
These characters are as flawed as they are likeable, and the storytelling is just magnificent.
Solid 5 stars.
Graphic: Murder, Fatphobia, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Drug abuse
hctown'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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Grief
Moderate: Kidnapping and Violence
singalana'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Minor: Addiction, Blood, Sexual content, Death, Kidnapping, Medical content, Vomit, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Animal death, Murder, and Violence
mr_cain'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
4.5
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Grief, Cursing, and Drug use
Moderate: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Sexual content, Stalking, Miscarriage, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, and Infidelity
solenekeleroux'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
Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Death, Animal death, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Blood, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Body horror, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and Abandonment
laurenleigh'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, Animal death, and Alcohol
cathepsut's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
This is not a typical werewolf story. If you are looking for Urban Fantasy, this is definitely not it. It is a story by an indigenous Canadian writer, based on traditional folkore about the Rogarou (from the French word for werewolf, loup-garou) and then some. And a very real topic concerning indigenous people in Canada today.
I was a little lukewarm about this throughout, but the last third of the novel made up for it. That part was excellent and I couldn‘t put it down anymore. The changing points of view made for an exciting read and the ending and epilogue gave it a great and suspenseful finish.
Things I looked up during my read — from here on there are spoilers:
Here is an somewhat spoilerish interview with Dimaline where she describes how she came to write a novel about a Rogarou: https://electricliterature.com/cherie...
The novel might be adapted for the small screen: https://deadline.com/2021/07/kai-wu-c...
Towards the end of the novel there is a quote from a poem:
I have measured out my life with coffee spoons;
I know the voices dying with a dying fall
Beneath the music from a farther room.
So how should I presume?
It’s from The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock by T. S. ELIOT
(https://www.poetryfoundation.org/poet...)
Some thoughts on Joan:
Joan‘s last name, Beausoliel: is that a anglicized version of „beau soleil“, aka beautiful sun?
Joan of Arcand = Joan of Arc… as in: she is supposed to deliver her region and people from the invading mining companies, etc.?
Joan‘s red coat — a hint at Litte Red Riding Hood? Considering some events in this book, it feels like a re-telling of that fairytale, at least in parts. Intermingled with that Rogarou folkore.
“What big teeth you have," said Little Red Riding Hood her voice quivering slightly.
"The better to eat you with, my dear," roared the wolf…“
Here is an online version of Little Red Riding Hood: https://www.grimmstories.com/language...
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Rape and Murder
eclareb's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Torture, Sexual harassment, Racism, Death of parent, and Violence
rorikae'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
Joan believes her husband is dead when she stumbles into a religious tent in the Walmart parking lot and finds a man that looks remarkably like him preaching. But Viktor doesn't remember her and is now going by the name Eugene Wolff. Joan knows that this man is her husband and will stop at nothing to get him back, including taking on the revival group that seems to have brainwashed him and the stories of more than wolves that are lurking in the woods.
From the first paragraph of this book, I was hooked. Dimaline has an engaging and evocative writing style that clearly paints the world she has created in stark but emotional prose. From the beginning, Joan and each of the supporting characters flew off the page as if they had been plucked from real life. Add to that an enticing mystery as the reader tries to figure out what happened to Viktor right alongside Joan and this story was near perfection. Dimaline does a great job of breathing folklore and a hint of the speculative into a world that is otherwise down to earth. I have been excited to pick up her work for some time and now I can't wait to read everything that she has written.
Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, and Kidnapping