aurora9 's review for:

In Memoriam by Alice Winn

5.0

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I bought the book as an ebook shortly after reading the NYT review, as it hit a few key areas for me: LGBTQ+ storyline, boarding school, historical fiction. I did not anticipate it rousing as many feelings in me as it did, however. As a lifelong pacifist (who was very nearly physically ill watching the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan, and who did not watch any further than that), the descriptions of carnage were at times difficult to stomach, and the way the author tied the characters and their development into the development of the war did get me more than a bit maudlin thinking of the very real lives lost in conflicts historical and contemporary. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, Injury/Injury detail