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dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Everything Under is a book in which the setting is the most key feature. The river Isis and its community of drifters make up the bulk of this ethereal story. Johnson effortlessly invokes the rhythms of river-living in a way that transports.
The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?
Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o
The mother-daughter dynamics in this book are well-explored and devastating. Gretel's perspective in particular is heart-wrenching and challenging. Johnson gives the book a mysterious element as we wonder alongside Gretel: who was Marcus and why did he change the trajectory of their life?
Overall, this is a lovely and genderfluid retelling of a classic myth. The characters and the setting were so real-seeming. My only complaint would be that something in the structure felt a little too confusing; it was o
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Incest, Violence, Murder, Abandonment
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Surprisingly suspenseful
‘Anything can be lost if you try hard enough’
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Self harm, Suicide, Dementia, Death of parent, Abandonment
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Incest, Suicide, Dementia
Moderate: Deadnaming
Minor: Cancer
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was very interesting at certain points when there was action, but otherwise it was very slow-paced in a way that doesn’t so much as build up tension and a desire to keep going but in a way that became a bit repetitive. I enjoyed this re-telling of a classic myth and felt that it put a very unique spin on it, but there were times were I was completely bored and it was hard to continue through. I think part of it had to do with the lack of quotation marks indicating dialogue so it was sometimes difficult to discern whether someone was thinking or speaking. I also didn’t love the second and third person point of view, it got a little confusing as it flipped back and forth each chapter and I felt like it added a more passive voice to the novel that detracted from the interesting parts. I often found myself re-reading pages because I wasn’t quite sure who was talking, whether they were talking out loud, and it was hard to know whether the action was real or imagined. That said, I thoroughly appreciated Johnson’s capability for stunning imagery, particularly that of nature.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Incest, Suicide, Murder, Abandonment
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
After reading Sisters, I was very excited for this book. I have mixed feelings. On one hand, the writing, the themes of language and origin, her brilliant transformation of Oedipus was all fantastic.
However, I wasn’t satisfied by the ending of the Bonak storyline — killing the Bonak felt like an undeservingly easy ending when it’s clearly meant to represent a larger theme, the power of fear and the way it follows you . I also had a lot of issues with the trans representation in Marcus, particularly coming from a cis author. Because of that, I can’t give this book a 4 or higher.
However, I wasn’t satisfied by the ending of the Bonak storyline —
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child death, Deadnaming, Incest, Sexual content, Suicide, Dementia, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Blood
Minor: Addiction, Rape