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afion's review against another edition
3.25
Graphic: Rape, Adult/minor relationship, War, Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Body horror, and Drug use
Moderate: Abortion, Homophobia, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Biphobia
kierstyn'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
4.5
this book captivated me, although i did find some parts a little slow and boring during the war; and the parts i wanted to be dug into the most were often glossed over. for example, Marian flying around the world was only in the last 60 pages or so when i expected it to be half the book worth. i also wished we got to see more emotion from Marian so we can connect with her more. i would have loved to see a deeper romance between her and Caleb, although i know that is not the point of the book. i also wish that Marian and Hadley's connection was deeper than it was with more of a shock factor. we do go into some parts of Hadley's life that are unnecessary, like the mushroom trip for example — i hated reading through that.
i have a discovery pilot flight tomorrow :)
Graphic: Rape, Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, War, and Sexual assault
Minor: Abortion
rhalpin's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death and Sexual assault
uhm_kai'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, War, Rape, Pregnancy, Abortion, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Misogyny, Hate crime, Grief, Death, and Adult/minor relationship
alex_c's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Death
saltycoffee'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
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Pedophilia, Rape, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Murder, Grief, and War
siobhann's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, and Rape
sistelo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault and Child abuse
Moderate: Addiction and Alcohol
kimberlyallen011's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pregnancy, War, Homophobia, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Death of parent, and Racism
nenaveenstra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Summarizing this book, or my feelings about it, in one tiny review seems impossible, as it's so big and complex. I'll try nonetheless.
There's the story of Marian Graves, who goes through trauma, multiple sexual awakenings, but stays constant nonetheless; a stubborn, boyish woman who loves to fly. There's the people who surround her, some of whom get their own stories - especially dear Jamie - some of them remain side characters to Marian's.
Then there's the story of this actress - Hadley - who plays Marian in a movie, but also has problems of her own to deal with. Fame, grief, love, scandal, finding a goal in life (no one is as blessed as Marian, after all, with a life direction handed to her on a golden plate (or in an airplane)).
I thought it was interesting, to follow these lives, but I did find myself confused quite often. This because of multiple reasons: the massive amount of characters - their names, their varying agrees of importance to the story and how exactly were they connected to Marian again; the switching timelines, and the timejumps within those timelines; and the writing, which was beautiful, but sometimes unclear on whether it was being literal or figurative.
Also unclear to me, was the meaning of this book. I'm inclined to say it was just a character study; a behind the scenes on these two women's lives and the extra mile they have to walk to achieve the same things a man can with half the effort, the trauma they have to go through, both emotionally and physically. But then why would you write this dual timeline, why not just focus on Marian, who was interesting enough on her own? Maybe it was a way of showing the discrepancies that can exist between a real life and the way outsiders view it. Oftentimes the script of the movie they're producing in modern times, doesn't rhyme with what actually happened. Take for example the (spoiler?) sapphic love affair Marian has with someone she meets during the war. Society is so eager to paint her as a straight woman that they choose to ignore this very real part of her.
That does bring me to one critique, though: the only lesbian mentioned in this book gets killed off relatively quickly after we get to know her. I get that it was necessary to the ending of the book, but damn, it's 2022, we've had enough of seeing lesbians die in media.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, War, Grief, Death of parent, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Homophobia
Plane crashes and boat sinkings are discussed quite often, but in a non-grave way, except for in the beginning when the twins Jamie and Marian are rescued from a sinking ship. Also a sibling dies.