Scan barcode
shinyfox'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
3.75
Loved the narration of this book, each and every character had a different person reading for them and it was amazing and really lent itself to the richness of the world and characters.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Alcohol, and War
kirjakimalainen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Racism
rafacolog'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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Racism, Violence, and Kidnapping
carrrissa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Racism
anna_m_k'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: Child death and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
khakipantsofsex's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, and Racism
bennoyb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Racism, Violence, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
plume_de_renarde's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Misogyny and Religious bigotry
Minor: Racism, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
abby_can_read's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
This was an enjoyable book. I think the characters are well-developed. The story started off strong and the ending was weak. I do plan to read the other books in the series.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Torture, Blood, Trafficking, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
bexi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I often struggled to connect with the characters and found many of them unlikable, including the main character Lyra (she grew on me, but I'm still not sure I like her).
I believe this book is supposed to be a critique of Christianity, or maybe more specifically the Church. I occasionally felt I lacked the knowledge to understand all of the critiques because although my parents were raised Baptist & Catholic respectively, I was not raised as such. For context, I'm not a religious person and identify as agnostic. I found the commentary interesting, but if you're a Christian you might get upset by some of it.
This book is marked as middle grade and young adult. I'd say it leans more YA. I found this incredibly dark for MG and would not recommend it to the average middle grader. If said child is emotionally & intellectually mature for their age then okay, but otherwise I'd say it's best for ages 14+. I don't have kids, so take that with a grain of salt. I personally would not have been mature/smart enough to get much out this book had I read it in middle school. 😅
I thought the story was unique and liked it overall, but I'm not sure if I'll pick up the next book in the series.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, Excrement, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism