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rylanobrien's review
adventurous
emotional
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? No
3.25
ekparks's review
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
alexander_'s review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
mitskacir's review
3.0
It took me awhile to get into this book, especially since the summary makes it sound more like an exciting murder mystery more than the slice of life story it actually is. Even at the peak of the action, Cowney spends much of his time filling out college applications, going grocery shopping, and doing chores. Much of the focus was on his coming of age and his romantic interests. I appreciated how Cowney was written though - he was respectful of his love interest even while feeling jealous and betrayed by her interest in another man and her involvement in Cowney’s negative interactions with the military. It was interesting to me how Essie was not racialized to the same extent that Cowney was, and I’m not sure how much of that was her in-text circumstances and person, or because she was not the main focus of the author.
overbooked_va's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
I found this a little uneven, but I’d definitely check out Clapsaddle’s next effort. Things that worked for me: atmosphere, quiet details that painted an accurate picture of Appalachian life, an interesting hero in the young naive but admirable hero with deep moral fiber and courage, familial depictions, the history. Things that didn’t work as well: despite all the elements I enjoyed, it felt more like a YA then a fully fleshed work of adult fiction, there was a lack of polish in the connective tissue between scenes, the dialogue, and the inner voice. There was a lot of and then I thought this and then I thought this that could have been fine tuned with more editing. Some characters needed further development and this should not have been marketed as a mystery when it is clearly a coming of age novel. All in all I enjoyed it and hope to see more.
emberrolf's review
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
jessemilac's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Racism
bunny_rose's review
3.0
Really beautifully written but I went in thinking it was a horror book, was more of a mystery and coming of age story. Descriptive and historical slow burn Fs tho I wish there was more meat to it (?) idk
jess_westhafer's review
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
geeahna's review
this was good i just dont like this genre and im not in the mood to try something from the genre rn. would recommend checking it out though!