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embreads98's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I generally enjoyed this book, but there were a few parts I took issue with. The main love interest begins when the main character is in her early teens and her pursuer is 18, and there are passages that imply he is attracted to her naive qualities. That gave me a bit of an ick feeling. The other thing is that there is a minor character (Jumpin’s wife, Mabel) who is repeatedly described as notably fat, and yet when her weight is mentioned it is “almost 200 pounds”. It’s a small detail but as a mid-sized person who is over 200 pounds, it made me feel like the author has never actually met a fat person. All of this said, I enjoyed this easy read and found the writing to be good but not great, not necessarily worth the hype that this book has received.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Alcohol, and Violence
belladonnashrike's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
- 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
3.0
I loved the story. the writing was not the best at times - I only thoroughly enjoyed it when owens was describing nature and the wildlife that surrounded kya. being a published wildlife scientist, it makes sense for those parts to be more vibrant than the rest. the pacing for the first half of the book was solid but in part 2, the pacing felt…off. it wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t good either. the time skips honestly were not well done. I feel like the second half was overly edited with important chapters and several details left out, especially when the first half didn’t deal with unnatural time skips at all. time in the first half felt very organic; part 2 felt sloppy and hastily strung together. I did enjoy the twist, I was thinking that someone else committed the crime for most of the book and was genuinely surprised to find out that I was wrong. (I still love kya my girl did nothing wrong.)
also: why on earth did owens only describe mabel with her size? any time the woman was mentioned - who had many great qualities that had nothing to do with, and were more important than, her outward appearance - her fatness was mentioned unnecessarily. the first time, of course mention it because that’s what she looks like. but repeatedly in *that* tone she had? it felt very weird to me. she was the only (somewhat prominent) black woman in the book and aside from her kindness, that was the only thing she had going for her? no other side character was described in that manner. of course she was kya’s mother figure, but there are ways to describe that role that doesn’t tap into a mammy stereotype. it was annoying and weird coming from a white author. jumpin’s character also felt like a caricature and their descriptions seemed to reveal blatant racial bias from the author. the story takes place in the sixties, but there are ways to showcase the characters’ attitudes and perceptions towards others without being racist yourself.
also: why on earth did owens only describe mabel with her size? any time the woman was mentioned - who had many great qualities that had nothing to do with, and were more important than, her outward appearance - her fatness was mentioned unnecessarily. the first time, of course mention it because that’s what she looks like. but repeatedly in *that* tone she had? it felt very weird to me. she was the only (somewhat prominent) black woman in the book and aside from her kindness, that was the only thing she had going for her? no other side character was described in that manner. of course she was kya’s mother figure, but there are ways to describe that role that doesn’t tap into a mammy stereotype. it was annoying and weird coming from a white author. jumpin’s character also felt like a caricature and their descriptions seemed to reveal blatant racial bias from the author. the story takes place in the sixties, but there are ways to showcase the characters’ attitudes and perceptions towards others without being racist yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia
beren_wren's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence
ellik6612's review
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Baaadly written. The dialogue is awful, cliche and stilted. The plot is unbelievable and sort of nonsensical. The characters are dull and sentimental, and the whole thing got worse as it went along. I did really enjoy some of the descriptions of nature, and the food descriptions were vivid. You could enjoy this if you treated it as light, pretty escapism, but for me, once I'd picked up on each silly plot point or improbable character action I couldn't ignore them.
The black characters are stereotypical and one dimensional, verging on full on racist tropes. Afterwards I read more about the author and it completely makes sense, she has a questionable history.
The black characters are stereotypical and one dimensional, verging on full on racist tropes. Afterwards I read more about the author and it completely makes sense, she has a questionable history.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fatphobia, Murder, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Child abuse
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