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dugfromthedirt'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Cannibalism, Classism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Animal death, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Pregnancy, Drug use, Gore, Racism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Sexual violence, Vomit, Hate crime, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Police brutality, Slavery, Trafficking, Grief, Mental illness, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Classism, and Misogyny
anntharai'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? Yes
4.5
The writing is engaging, the story devastating, and the whole concept deeply thought provoking.
So much of this story is terrifying and stomach churning and yet ….
Depressingly unsurprising.
Maybe that’s cynical but, or maybe it’s just a shame.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
lectrixnoctis'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? Yes
3.0
When international climate instability and economic emergencies guide social chaos in the early 2020s, California evolves full of threats, from pervasive water poverty to the abundance of nomads who will do anything to stay alive.
Fifteen-year-old Lauren Olamina lives inside a gated neighbourhood with her priest father, family, and neighbours, harboured from the surrounding lawlessness. In a civilisation where exposure is a risk, she suffers from hyper empathy, a debilitating sensitivity to others' pain.
Developed and clear-eyed, Lauren must make her voice heard to save her loved ones from the coming disasters her tiny neighbourhood stubbornly disregards. But what starts as a fight for survival soon directs to something largely more: the birth of a renewed faith and a startling vision of human destiny.
The main themes of this book are dystopian. It talks about a not so bright future or even an awful lot where people fight for their lives. It is expected that people are getting killed just like that, and whole cities are destroyed due to climate change. It may seem horrific and terrible. Still, I think that the author made a strong point with it. We live in a global pandemic, and seeing all these things that could happen is pretty relatable to our current times. This novel is more for younger readers; however, I recommend it for anyone.
The author has an exciting writing style while following the main character throughout the story via journal entries. We see all the horror of the future, set in the early 2020s. I do not doubt that this book is an absolute classic, and it is a dystopian masterpiece; however, I am not that fond of dystopian works, and it is prolonged and a bit confusing at first. This book shows you that the journey is the end goal that took me a lot of time to get into it. While reading it, I felt disheartened because I couldn't connect with the characters at the first end. After all, the horrific topics this book talks about made it even harder. Yet, this book is probably worth reading, especially nowadays due to climate change and the black lives matter movement. I will read the second part of the book, and I hope it will be easier for me to follow along for the sequel after I get into this book.
Graphic: Child abuse, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Child death, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Incest, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Violence, and Torture
chloebethx_'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
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexism, Slavery, Trafficking, and Violence
alexture's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Slavery, Suicide, Trafficking, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Incest, and Police brutality
mscalls's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Xenophobia, Ableism, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse
tink's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Cannibalism, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, and Violence