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lavenderbookworm29'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: Addiction, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
vincentpriceisright's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Body shaming, Genocide, and Homophobia
I would say the two biggest CWs/TWs to be aware of are drug abuse/addiction and rape/sexual harassmentlizziaha's review
3.25
However. I think I got caught up in the logistics of the investigation. I was constantly wondering if things being done in the name of the investigation were actually legal. Looped into that, the power imbalance in the romance was offputting and distracting to me. Daunis was in over her head, and it shows. Because of Daunis’s inexperience the pacing of the book is off. The plot goes from slow paced small town life with small potato problems to huge fast-paced life or death situations. It felt jarring.
Despite the somewhat messy jumble of plot threads, the ending surprisingly wraps things up in a way that resolves some of my issues with the book. I thought it was a good ending that couldn’t do quite enough to compensate for the inconsistencies of the rest of the book. I’d be interested in reading a lit fic from the same author, instead of a thriller type plot like this one.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Grief, and Classism
Minor: Racial slurs and Suicide
alexiconic'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
this book had everything. good twists, a wonderful hero with her own demons and dilemmas, intricate and difficult family relations, friendship and community, and an articulation of that time of life where we try to find our purpose on earth. oh, and a thrilling crime-y plot.
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Classism, and Deportation
talonsontypewriters'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? No
1.5
The writing ranges from dry to pointedly (in other words, unnaturally) quotable, and the dialogue is somehow even more stilted and unrealistically grammatically flawless than the narration. A few spoken lines toward the end literally go on uninterrupted and with no stuttering or backtracking for 100+ words; virtually no one, let alone who's suffered recent repeated physical trauma, is that eloquent. Information is revealed in stilted blocks and repeated ten times over. I don't think any teenager -- or person at all -- in the history of cell phones has ever texted like the teenagers in this book are written as doing.
In terms of substance, there's a lot left to be desired as well. All of the individual narrative threads -- or at least most of them -- would make interesting stories, but here they're all kind of crammed into one unbalanced mess. Is the central plot supposed to be Daunis's complex relationship with her family members and community? Her desire to pursue a career in medicine/science and unite traditional and more modern "scientific" practices? Her recovering from and learning about the factors leading up to her best friend's sudden, tragic death? Her role as an undercover informant in an FBI investigation involving meth and her community (as much suspension of disbelief as that requires)? Her and Jamie's relationship? A general critical overview of the treatment of Indigenous women in American and Canadian society? It's never really decided, and so we jump awkwardly from one to the other without more natural transitions or better multitasking, leading to really overall odd pacing.
The general emotional pacing never quite hits either. A significant medical detail about the protagonist is made explicit for the first time 70% in and never serves any real relevance (and is outright contradicted or ignored at other times). Major traumatic events like the murder of Daunis's best friend and
The characters -- including, perhaps especially Daunis -- lack depth, whittled down to one trait (not even one that is shown, but told... multiple times). The supporting cast especially kind of blends together as a result of that weird pacing and unrealistic, stilted dialogue. I couldn't get a real sense of any of their motivations, so the culprit reveal and relationships all feel more than lackluster. In that regard, the romance is particularly egregious, even putting aside the core issues with
Overall, quite disappointing execution of multiple interesting premises, and I remain bewildered by the overwhelmingly positive response. Perhaps it was a great book for many others, but nothing about it ended up clicking or sitting well with me.
(Also, urine, even your own, is not actually sterile! Please do not use it as a substitute for hydrogen peroxide. I know this is set in 2004 -- as little as there is to solidly ground it there -- and a lot of people believe that myth even today, but it just feels... irresponsible to include in a book like this, especially framed as an objective valuable fact.)
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, and Alcohol
deepcurvesahead'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Alcohol
black_cat_iiix'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
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, and Colonisation
Moderate: Infidelity, Vomit, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Fire/Fire injury
kenzers8'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, and Car accident
Minor: Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
math_scooter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Cultural appropriation
margaret_k30'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation