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4.14 AVERAGE
4.14 AVERAGE
challenging
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
N/A
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
I received this book in a Goodreads giveaway. A really interesting meditation on collective forgetting, using a mix of fact and fiction, and some experimentation with technique (photography, some unexpected narrators). I am a big fan of Russell's other works and this one held up nicely!
emotional
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Murder
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I quite enjoyed this book. The world felt rich and well drawn. The magical realism aspect was quite well done and specific. The characters were also specific and compelling. My only gripe with the book, which is what kept it from being a 5 star read for me, is that I felt the final third was a bit on the nose and hitting the reader over the head with the book’s grand theme. So it left the climax feeling a bit didactic and like an after school special about the lesson we’re supposed to take from everything. And I sort of wished Russell had trusted the reader more. Because I thought the theme was quite clear, and not at all hitting us over the head, throughout the entirety of the book up till that point. It was baked
in to how the magic functioned in the world she created. I didn’t need aan ending that amounts to a lecture about what we’re supposed to take from it all. This said, it didn’t ruin the book for me. Obviously still a 4.5 star rating from me, because I still quite liked this book and even the ending, while on the nose, was still satisfying.
in to how the magic functioned in the world she created. I didn’t need a
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Genocide, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Classism
Moderate: Trafficking
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
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
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
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