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hamstringy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Let's sort my criticisms into petty and conceptual:
Petty Nitpicks:
- Women in the 1890s wearing "lacy bras"
- A character predicting she'd graduate from UCLA in the 90s with $50k in debt (which there is no way to do in 4-5 years)
- People using modern slang while time traveling while having people of the times understand them (okay sure, we're ignoring historical linguistics, that is a valid choice), but they catch enemy time travelers because they use modern slang??
- I find this book to be quite bioessentialist--a lot of it is focused on an expanded Comstock act and the legality of abortion, which does most obviously affect people with uteruses (often women). This is fine, but the narrative keeps harping on the fact that the Sisters of Harriet are for women and nonbinary people. What about trans men? Are they not central to the underlying themes of autonomy, particularly with people obsessed with "female" fertility? What does the Comstock act do to affect nonbinary people and trans women? Why are all but one of the main characters women if there is gender diversity? It takes a lot of wind out of this book's sails, and, honestly, part of me wished the author just chose to make the Sisters of Harriet focused on abortion for women, because that's all they seemed equipped to handle.
- I find the constant pacifism of the Sisters to be incredibly annoying. I think this is in large part because I'm not a staunch interpersonal pacifist myself, but it also doesn't really make sense in-book: what is one man versus the global health of all women? No one ever seems to express a very "sanctity of all life" sentiment, so it feels really disappointing a choice to shy away from the conflict between violence and autonomy.
- I wish the Comstockers weren't made out to be these cartoonish villains. People who are anti-abortion can seem that way, but I think it's a generally more interesting and more compelling struggle if the Comstockers have complexity and nuance--this is hinted at in the very first scene, where a Comstocker is anti-college because of its establishment roots, but their politics quickly devolve into calling all women sluts and wanting them dead.
A riot grrl band never exists because the main character and her friend succeed and legalize abortion in the 21st century, but the riot grrl movement (and in particular this Latina-fronted band) was never just focused on abortion. Did men suddenly stop raping, harrassing, and objectifying musicians?
Graphic: Sexism, Transphobia, Cursing, Abortion, and Rape
Moderate: Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Murder, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Death, Misogyny, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual assault, Drug use, and Pregnancy
Minor: Mental illness, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship
emilliampere's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Murder, Abortion, and Misogyny
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Suicide, Blood, Transphobia, Cultural appropriation, Deadnaming, Vomit, Slavery, and Sexual content
thesawyerbean'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? It's complicated
4.25
However, where this book falls short is I’m not sure the vision of the fundamental aspect, the time travel and its mechanics, were as defined and clear as they should have been. I did have to suspend belief and go along with it at certain points because it did seem like they flouted their own predefined rules in order for the plot to continue. By the end, although it was satisfying and a satisfactory end, there were still so many questions left unanswered - the characters and I were both left asking ‘who knows?’. In certain ways it made it more convoluted than it already was trying to justify some of the plot points.
Overall this book was good and definitely worth a read. A powerful feminist sci-fi novel, full of historical context and loveable characters, with an overarching plot-line we can all feel impassioned about.
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Drug use
kerriw's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Overall, I enjoyed it! Though I did the audiobook and the narrator’s voice was not my favorite.
Graphic: Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion, Child abuse, Confinement, and Medical trauma
Minor: Mental illness, Racism, Transphobia, and Vomit
aardwyrm's review
- 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
4.0
The book does a good job of juggling time travel and changing realities, slipping in needful details and surprises. Plot is really its strongest point. There's some occasional clunky dialogue; character speak out loud the same way they internally monologue, and infodump their emotions once in a while. But the worst this'll do is throw you out of the text a minute. It's an intensely, deliberately political book, which may not be everyone's choice, but it's an effective, well balanced time thriller, too.
Graphic: Ableism, Alcohol, Child death, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Rape, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Abortion, Torture, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Incest, Hate crime, Homophobia, Grief, Gore, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, Death, Vomit, Violence, Transphobia, Sexual assault, Antisemitism, and Blood
lain_darko's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, Violence, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Abortion, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Racism, Antisemitism, Suicide, Blood, and Deadnaming
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
maresuju's review
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Murder, Sexism, and Transphobia
Moderate: Abortion, Misogyny, Rape, and Mental illness
Minor: Vomit, Suicide, and Racism
fraxisle'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
4.75
Graphic: Medical trauma, Abortion, Sexism, Child abuse, Violence, Mental illness, Rape, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Slavery, Transphobia, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Racism, Addiction, Drug use, Antisemitism, Xenophobia, Blood, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Sexual assault, Vomit, Pregnancy, Child death, Genocide, War, Colonisation, and Deadnaming
skl_hcn'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gore, Alcohol, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Rape
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Racial slurs, Vomit, and Suicide
courtneyfalling's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Biggest piece of advice: Read the content warnings.
Specific notes:
- I really like Beth's character. I felt so personally drawn to her, to how she reacted to trauma and how she imagined her future.
This was one of the most real and harrowing descriptions of a volatile father I've ever seen, and as someone who shares a lot of those experiences with Beth, I did have to pause after many of her chapters and take a breath. I do like where her story ended up, but definitely very heavy. I did not see that twist coming, holy shit! Just had to totally reassess how I had viewed Tess's backstory up to that point. But it was pulled off pretty well and set up the ending. - I do like how Tess's story ended up, but for most of the novel, she just frustrated me. She's terrible at taking the information she's learned while traveling and actually incorporating it into her actions at all.
The scene where she goes to the Lady Managers to set up a cultural tea is so cringy. Why would she just expect sudden sisterhood? It's so historically unbased and represents a real lack of intersectional feminist awareness at her core, beyond the right terms or basic frameworks, at a real fundamental and personal level. Also, when she first shows up to the Expo, she immediately fucks up and tells Aseel her whole, half-baked plan. You're telling me she's traveled so much and become so important and well-known across history with absolutely zero social awareness or cover-up skills? I didn't believe how blank she was. Morehshin's character comes in really suddenly and we never get to learn much about her. I honestly could've done without her... she felt too thrown in without the proper context setting. - I wanted more murder. There's a lot of time spent feeling guilty about violence or theorizing about how violence is never truly justified, but the book fails to truly back up why violence doesn't work or why it's overshadowed by its immorality, especially for the first half of the book while establishing how Tess doesn't use violence.
I'm honestly glad Tess ended up returning to her roots as a killer; at that point even the unequivocal embrace of bloodthirsty killing felt better than the moralistic anti-violence line that took over so much of the book. Upon meeting one of the world's crappiest, most one-dimensional villains, Tess notes how his birth year, 2379, makes him "a contemporary of Berenice's killer." But that chapter where we briefly meet Berenice's would-be killer is from Enid's perspective, and Enid never fully shares what happened when she gets back to 2022. It actually seemed like she was purposefully not mentioning how futuristic these villains truly were. So how does Tess know, and why is it such a minor deal to her that it's only coming up now? Bad communication-related plot hole. - I feel like this book's feminism often tried to rope in trans women and nonbinary folks without fully, fundamentally rethinking its concepts of "feminine" bodies and power. There were some scenes about the Divine Feminine that strayed a little toward bioessentialist, and a lot of the book focused on reproductive rights (and specifically reproductive rights, not reproductive justice). Which is extra frustrating because the author is nonbinary! And I really wanted these issues to be handled with a little more nuance and centering of trans women and nonbinary folks specifically.
- Beyond a few jokes about the elaborate hell that is tenure review, this book doesn't really unpack how its characters navigate their status within a university even as they try to adapt and subvert how they're using their funding. At points, it sets up university education as a site of automatic and only forward progress, like access to the university is the main issue, not the deeper power dynamics of economic authority, institutional and cultural sway, knowledge definition, and land and resource theft that universities bank on.
Graphic: Abortion, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Murder, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Antisemitism, Cultural appropriation, Pedophilia, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcohol, Colonisation, Slavery, and Vomit