Scan barcode
therewillbenewsuns'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Self harm, Gore, Police brutality, Violence, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Minor: Police brutality
lana72905'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
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, War, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, and Blood
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Child abuse
eni_iilorak'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? No
4.75
Graphic: Police brutality, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Gun violence, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Cursing
Moderate: Drug use, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Rape, Homophobia, and Biphobia
displacedcactus'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
Bitter shows us the start of how Lucille got rid of its monsters. Pet shows us a Lucille that believes the monsters are gone. But what I really want is the story of how Lucille appears to operate as an autonomous city. What is going on in the rest of the world? Has this revolution rippled out into the rest of the country or the world? Is the rest of the world watching Lucille as a sort of case study?
Just like Pet, Bitter ends up being a story about justice, vengeance, crime, and punishment, about what monsters deserve and the fine line that we have to walk to protect the vulnerable among us while also trying to minimize the stains on our own conscience. But just like Pet, I felt like Bitter could have spent a bit more time sitting with these ideas rather than rushing the resolution.
I feel like you can probably read these two books in whichever order you want -- they each spoil certain elements of the other.
Moderate: Violence, Cursing, and Drug use
Minor: Blood
The drug use in question is marijuana being smoked by 17ish year old characters. It's not really specified whether or not weed is legal in Lucille, but one would presume it still wouldn't be for minors.cookiecat73's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Self harm, War, Xenophobia, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Classism, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug use and Rape
sadiefc's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Body horror and Blood
Moderate: Police brutality, Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Abandonment, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, and War
emilyreads_books'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: Blood, Classism, Cursing, Grief, Gun violence, War, Mental illness, Death, Police brutality, Murder, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah984'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
4.5
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Blood, Body horror, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Infidelity, Child abuse, Bullying, Cursing, and Death of parent
ysra'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
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Abandonment, Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, and Panic attacks/disorders
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
- BITTER is the prequel to Emezi's YA novel PET, and follows Jam's mother Bitter in the pre-revolution days.
- Given that Bitter is older than Jam was in PET, this novel has a slightly more adult feel - PET felt like a middle grade fairytale, while BITTER is more like a parable from a parallel timeline. It also expanded the world and its fantastical elements a bit, which was great.
- These books would be great gifts for kids interested in activism, particularly around social equity. Emezi has built the world of Lucille to shear down the world's problems to just resource distribution and policing, making these a good place to start. They even name drop some prominent activists from our world (Brooks, Kaba, etc.) to give readers a trail to follow.
Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol