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wrensreadingroom's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Racism, Confinement, Cursing, Gaslighting, Body shaming, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Cancer, Bullying, Vomit, Classism, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Medical content, Colonisation, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, and Homophobia
betweentheshelves'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
Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, and Gore
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, and Child death
bookishmillennial's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Everyone’s reading experiences are subjective, so I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not, regardless if I add stars or not. Find me on Instagram: @bookish.millennial or tiktok: @bookishmillennial
Pub date: October 3rd (“on October 3rd, he asked me what day it was”)
This was a beautifully powerful story about generational trauma, taking back your agency, being scared but doing it anyway, and a splash of Achillean romance 🫶🏽
I love how fun it is to unravel clues and history in a mystery like this. The town’s past *literally* comes back to haunt these people, and a huge part of why it’s so powerful is because of the revision history that takes place by the people in power. The theme of truth comes up a lot in this book — what’s true and who should these characters trust? How does the truth inform their next decisions?! Though Douglas was essentially forced into taking on this quest, he tried his best to trust his instincts, and to let his curiosity guide him.
There were few people “worth saving” (in my opinion because I choose violence every day) and Douglas could have said no and just tried to survive the rest of his senior year. He could have said, “none of these people are good to me, why should I save them or this town?! I’m not tied to it and I just got here!” However, another theme comes into play throughout the book, and it’s the topic of choosing to help even when no one has helped you.
Douglas isn’t your perfect, fearless, all-knowing hero; he’s just Douglas and that’s okay! He is so relatable because he does get so exhausted, frustrated, scared, or embarrassed (I think I feel these everyday hahaha) and he still tries anyway! He troubleshoots his way through problems and doesn’t give up even though he never asked for this, and even though it is HARD.
I really enjoyed the worldbuilding of the Atolas Forest history, Douglas’ past before coming to Vermont, and the way magic is weaved in!
Kosoko Jackson is a new auto-buy author for me and I’m committed to reading his backlist!
I am so glad I read this book, and now I need it to be optioned to become a film 😂
Graphic: Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Bullying, Child death, Classism, and Murder
fanboyriot's review
- 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
4.0
Rep: Gay MC, POC MC
Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, Racism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Gaslighting, Classism, Cursing, Mental illness, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Gore
Minor: Suicide and Sexual assault