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mandaazzi'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
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Drug abuse, Drug use, Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Alcoholism, Cursing, Child abuse, Child death, Colonisation, and Domestic abuse
biobeetle's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Colonisation, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Drug use
lilcoppertop's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Medical content, Racism, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Xenophobia, Vomit, Violence, Domestic abuse, Death, Grief, Drug use, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Child death, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
alexisgarcia'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Addiction, Colonisation, Drug use, Infidelity, Violence, Child death, and Police brutality
just_one_more_paige's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Police brutality, Alcohol, Grief, Child death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Medical content
ulogil'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcoholism, Drug use, Medical content, Self harm, Chronic illness, Addiction, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Colonisation, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Suicide attempt
caseythereader'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? Yes
5.0
- The way the many voices of this book weave together is masterful. Each perspective gave more dimension and life not only to Ever but to everyone and everywhere in his life.
- It's alternately uplifting and heartbreaking, watching these characters hurt each other while struggling to break cycles of trauma, but ultimately coming together to try again because their love stretches back generations.
Graphic: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Colonisation, Addiction, Cursing, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Medical content, Self harm, and Vomit
shelleyanderson4127's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Ever's mother Turtle, of Kiowa and Cherokee heritage, struggles to provide a secure home for her children and to put food on the table. In a last act of redemption, Ever's alcoholic grandfather makes Ever and his cousin dance regalia and introduces them to pow-wows and the Kiowa Gourd Dance. His Cherokee grandmother gifts Ever, and later Ever's own children, hand-made quilts full of their own healing.
The details of indigenous life and the different family voices form the gripping emotional core of this work. Poverty, addiction, corruption and the struggle for affordable housing are clearly depicted, alongside the strength of family, community, and knowing one's roots.
There are many moving chapters that will stay with me from this debut novel. These include the story of Vincent Geimausaddle, who abandoned Turtle as a child, dying as a result of alcohol abuse, but who fights to build a good relationship with his grandsons, and to pass on some of his Kiowa culture. And the story of Opbee Geimausaddle, a relative of Ever's, who understands the power of her grandmother's quilts to save lives. The blanket dance in the title refers to a custom of community members contributing money on a blanket and presenting it to honor or to help a family in need. Ever has sold his grandmother's quilts in order to keep his family together, and Opbee embarks on a journey to reunite his children with their quilts, a journey that will heal both her and the children.
"If we were echoes from one voice we wouldn't carry very far," says a character in the book. "We've echoed through endless generations because we are constructed by the voices of many." Ultimately this very moving novel is about survival in the face of devastating violence.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Colonisation, Drug abuse, Child abuse, and Police brutality
schnurln'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Classism, Death, Death of parent, Colonisation, Drug abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Vomit
Generational trauma