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cass_lit's review against another edition
1.5
- All the adults suck. Colleen bugged me more than Rich (SO whiny), but god they both sucked. You’re adults. Communicate. Or do something. Anything. We didn’t even get to read about the infidelity for something fun, it got like two mentions. I hated Ridge but god Colleen just leave him. Also, fuck you, Daniel (and that’s coming from an environmentalist).
- The POV switches to Chub felt not super important and random and were kinda just as boring as C & R’s (more understandable for him because he’s five though). Random sister POV there at the end too?
- The “mystery” or conflict doesn’t start until 45-50%. I didn’t even know there was a mystery or that this would be the plot point it became until those reviews during the period I tried to DNF. All the first half did for me was make me hate everyone in this town so… basically nothing.
- An absolutely individual, personal issue: I work in the environmental field; I started this while at a conference with other environmental professionals expecting it to be a fictionalized Silent Spring/Dark Waters (Exposure). I was sorely disappointed.
- Real quote from one of the adults in this story: “fifteen’s old enough to breed her.” Also unnecessary: dog murder.
- The end. Again, I didn’t care about these characters so it didn’t impact me too much emotionally, it just felt traumatic and draining. Writing a sad book doesn’t make you profound.
- Finally, it was Way Too Long. So long. So much of it was dragged out incessantly, but other parts were just completely unnecessary.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Ableism, Death, Child death, Bullying, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
dwager's review
Graphic: Bullying, Miscarriage, Death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal death, Abortion, Infidelity, Racism, Animal cruelty, Injury/Injury detail, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, and Suicide
prof_pelon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Violence, Alcohol, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexism, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Abortion, Animal death, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Racism
and_opossum's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Death
Moderate: Abortion, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, and Medical content
rivbug27's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Car accident, Colonisation, Violence, Racism, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, and Medical trauma
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, and Vomit
rozereads's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Miscarriage and Medical content
Moderate: Abortion, Animal cruelty, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Bullying, and Violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Death, and Physical abuse
emily_madcharo's review
- 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
Moderate: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Miscarriage, and Violence
davidrb's review
- 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
Richly written, with excellent character building, but didn't stick the landing. I really need to highlight the work Davidson puts into writing realistic characters: it's easy to slip into stereotypes and caricature with rural people and their lives, but they feel so human. I don't like most of them, but that's fine. Colleen, Enid, and Daniel stand out as my favorites.
But man, that ending. For a book that's all buildup, that's where it goes? Maybe I'll get it better on a reread.
The main reason I'm withholding a rating is the portrayal of the Yurok characters. I'm non Native myself, so I can't speak to it, but I'll be looking for Native reviewers' thoughts on the story. I liked Daniel personally, but something about the way he was written struck me as off, especially with the modern day climate where water protectors are still fighting his same battle.
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Racism, Terminal illness, and Violence