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jolineliest's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, and War
Minor: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Slavery, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
feuillycakes's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
If you think this is a lighthearted fantasy for kids, you’d be wrong. The concepts in this book are horrifying, the main character Lyra faces some horrible abuse and hardships, and though it’s perfectly understandable for a child, I didn’t fully grasp the horrors of this universe until I reread as an adult.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Trafficking, and Medical trauma
There’s a lot of discussion and descriptions of what is essentially an awake lobotomy but worse and more traumatic and fatal. Descriptions of violence and body horror, descriptions of experimentation on children including a form of torture that isn’t real but is still horrific to read about.