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maggiesasha's review against another edition
2.0
Nothing happened in the book. I liked the writing style but there were no quotation marks which made it hard on the eyes
justacatandabook's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
This is just a really weird book. It's one of those fancy literature types, where there are no quotation marks and everything is told in a long, lyrical fashion and teens who are like step-siblings have relationships, ya know. Set in the 1950s, Willa lives with her mom, older sister, and younger brother in Canada. But things change when her two stepbrothers arrive, with her older sister seemingly pairing off with one, leaving Willa stuck with Patrick. The encounters the two have are... special and will be triggering for some. This is not a book for the faint of heart. There's no real plot, just a sort of meandering passage of time, told as Willa relates more accounts of her encounters with Patrick and family. Robertson makes some good points about women having no control over their bodies in this time period, but otherwise it doesn't feel like there's much here. It's hard even to care much for Willa, despite what happens to her, and the plot is just inexplicable at times.
heather_19's review against another edition
1.0
I really didn't like this book. The only reason I finished it is because I didn't want to waste my monthly free credit on Audible.
livyoung87's review
4.0
This was absolutely riveting and brilliantly written I think, more so than other reviews give it credit for! I wonder if some readers have been out off by just how uncomfortably awkward parts of it were? For me an interesting take on the topic of memory which made me stop and think. Can our memories really be trusted? Did it really happen quite like that? What if things had turned out differently? Complex relationships with parents, stepparents and siblings which I often find validating as a reader and a child of a broken home. The characters were complex and very, very flawed. Aren’t we all?
dangosaffron's review against another edition
4.0
less disturbing and strange than goodreads reviewers would have you believe, but maybe it’s because i think dynamics like patrick and willa are always such an interesting read. i think the center of this thing should’ve been sisterhood—joan and willa, which i was hoping for but was never really fulfilled in a satisfying way. holistically i would probably rate this 3.5 stars because it lacks focus (especially towards the end), but robertson’s writing style is so commanding and hypnotic, so lush in its imagery…
j_olip's review against another edition
2.0
Advanced Reader Copy won in a Goodreads Giveaway (2017).
This book was so bizarre and felt like a series of weird occurrences that just kind of happened to characters we didn't really know or weren't really developed. The meetings between stepbrother and step-sister are weird, but we didn't really get to know them outside of these occurrences and we don't know much about their lives, thoughts and emotions. All of this to say that it was hard to stay connected to characters we didn't really know so it was hard to care.
This book was so bizarre and felt like a series of weird occurrences that just kind of happened to characters we didn't really know or weren't really developed. The meetings between stepbrother and step-sister are weird, but we didn't really get to know them outside of these occurrences and we don't know much about their lives, thoughts and emotions. All of this to say that it was hard to stay connected to characters we didn't really know so it was hard to care.
paigeirwin's review against another edition
2.0
Was not a fan. It felt like the entire book was trying to make so many different statements but none of them were written well enough to make an impact or actually say anything. Also just felt kind of exploitative in the way the abuse was written, the abuse felt sexualized which assault should not be written as. Not a fan!!!
rodeorocks13's review against another edition
3.0
I won an advanced copy through Goodreads first-reads.
Demi-gods is interesting and bizarre novel that shows the life of Willa starting from nine years old. This novel is about her life as she grows up but only focuses on the years that she was around her step brother. As time goes on their strange relationship gets even stranger and even more unhealthy. Patrick seems to have a hold on Willa even she can’t understand.
Demi-gods has a feel of reading a memoir from the way it is written. Willa tells her the story as if she is telling it in past tense. It feels as if you’re always looking back into the past and never part of the present. There are parts of this novel I found unnecessary and uncomfortable but it feels like author wanted you to feel that way. By doing this she set up the twisted setting that the reader is venturing into. Defiantly an interesting book if your wanting something out of the box and don’t mind a little weird thrown in.
Demi-gods is interesting and bizarre novel that shows the life of Willa starting from nine years old. This novel is about her life as she grows up but only focuses on the years that she was around her step brother. As time goes on their strange relationship gets even stranger and even more unhealthy. Patrick seems to have a hold on Willa even she can’t understand.
Demi-gods has a feel of reading a memoir from the way it is written. Willa tells her the story as if she is telling it in past tense. It feels as if you’re always looking back into the past and never part of the present. There are parts of this novel I found unnecessary and uncomfortable but it feels like author wanted you to feel that way. By doing this she set up the twisted setting that the reader is venturing into. Defiantly an interesting book if your wanting something out of the box and don’t mind a little weird thrown in.
gilmoreguide's review against another edition
1.0
Numerous other reviewers have pointed out that this book is not for everyone and for once, I fall into that category. I like provocative and uncomfortable in my literary fiction, but at less than 50 pages in, the character of Patrick is too sick for me to be interested. He's a sadist to his younger step-sister and according to the synopsis this relationship is going to continue into their adult lives. Thanks, but no thanks.
p.s. My opinion is not helped by this being one more author who feels as if quotation marks for dialogue are passé. Maybe so for light, easy reading, but when you're plumbing the depths of male depravity, cut the reader a break and delineate dialogue.
p.s. My opinion is not helped by this being one more author who feels as if quotation marks for dialogue are passé. Maybe so for light, easy reading, but when you're plumbing the depths of male depravity, cut the reader a break and delineate dialogue.