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deckleeditproof's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Sexual violence
zara89'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
2.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Death
Moderate: Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Rape, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Murder, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
beate251'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
4.0
I have first encountered this story as an eight part Disney+ series. Now that I finally got round to reading the book it's based on I can see why some people have problems with the narrative. It feels a lot more disjointed than the series, with a constant back and forth and introduction of seemingly random characters who turn out to be someone we didn't expect. You'll just have to accept that there's a big cast, and we're following them all.
The book deals with a lot of difficult topics (my content warnings are probably longer than my review!) and it sometimes feels like it's too many, even though some, like the rape, are barely mentioned. The TV show fleshes the time in Edinburgh out a lot more.
The writing is beautiful but I would really recommend the Disney+ series - it makes the book a lot easier to read.
Moderate: Physical abuse, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Classism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Biphobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Colonisation, Death of parent, and Homophobia
Minor: Rape, Alcoholism, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Medical content, and Cancer
erinoconnor's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Violence, Death of parent, Gun violence, Grief, Slavery, Racism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Domestic abuse, Colonisation, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Rape, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Sexism, Alcoholism, Death, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Biphobia
thissagreads'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
4.75
The audio was so wonderful to listen too, and if there’s ever going to be a part two, I will read it in a heartbeat! I do wish that the author
HIGLY recommend this book, and then if you’re feeling like you want more of this story, watch the Hulu tv show haha
Moderate: Rape and Racism
Minor: Violence, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse
happyblkhippie's review against another edition
Ugh I really wanted to like and finish this but the story was all over the place. I didn't know who's was who, or what's going on. Are we in present or in the past.
The story just moved too slow for me. I read 40% before dnf'g. I struggled to get through the part I did read. It was boring and confusing. I'm not one to "push through" and waste my time on a book I choose to voluntarily read if I don't like it. I typically only give books about 25% before moving on so I was very generous with this one.
I think the story was probably heading in a good direction, but just took too long to get there. I also didn't care for the writing style. It was too many characters that didn't add to the story and not enough important information to move the story forward. I listened to this on Audible and didn't care for the narrator either. Overall an interesting storyline but poor execution in my opinion. I would give it a 3.25 stars.
Graphic: Colonisation, Abandonment, Classism, and Grief
Moderate: Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Animal cruelty, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Racism, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexism, and Mental illness
Minor: Addiction, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Xenophobia, Adult/minor relationship, and Violence
tamaramo'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
Minor: Alcoholism, Adult/minor relationship, Colonisation, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racism, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
patsypoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really enjoyed the Caribbean/Covey part of the narrative but I wasn't sold or invested on the rest.
The writing was odd and the constant use of characters' names rather than using pronouns every now and then was annoying.
I also felt that a lot of the environmental and social issues were just tacked on for the sake of it.
There's one particular scene about a police traffic stop that was completely pointless. You literally meet one of the characters involved just then, the traffic stop happens, some stuff follows, there's a mention of protests and none of it is ever mentioned again. All of that happens over about 2 or 3 pages and that's it. Baffling.
There was a lot of telling but not much showing and some of the characters needed to be more developed.
Having said all that, the parts in the Caribbean were very enjoyable and the mystery at the heart of the story kept me reading.
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Alcoholism, Racism, Alcohol, and Homophobia
jlfields925's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Homophobia, Biphobia, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Racism, Lesbophobia, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Death, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Cancer, Colonisation, Death of parent, Hate crime, Pregnancy, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Stalking
valleysoshady'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
5.0
It made me love my family more, consider my priviledge, reflect on my parents as immigrants alone in a new country, my heritage.
I loved all of the characters, their flaws, their strength, their damage and their triumphs. I loved the vein of politics and social justice, ever present and gracefully intertwined with the plot.
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Violence, Racism, Rape, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Grief, Colonisation, Sexual violence, Death, Medical trauma, Murder, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Car accident, Rape, Sexual assault, Racism, Racial slurs, Sexism, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, and Homophobia