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A review by tofuandtears
Weyward by Emilia Hart
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Pros:
-Moments of beautiful writing, mainly in descriptions of nature
-The format was interesting and worked well - chapters were short and readable and the intertwining of these women's stories through time was clear
-Very natural magic system - in some ways I liked that it was vague and nature/power of women based, I like the feeling of oneness with the natural world being described. Also enjoyed the the familiars - that spiders and other insects were included. It is a sweet and sorrowful thing to imagine being comforted by a spider
-I liked Altha the best and ached for her. she was the loneliest of all
Cons:
-Less whimsical than I had expected (that's on me judging a book by it's cover!)
-More sexual violence than I had prepared for, beginning in the very first chapter, and happens to every Weyward narrator. Yes, this all has happened and is happening to women everywhere, but it's so triggering. and there are so few moments of joy. many moments of strength, but not of joy. Over and over I think that there are so many facets of resilience in women and you don't need to have them raped to prove the struggle. many white feminism concepts
-some of the writing was cliche or just to obvious
A quote I liked: "But the sun shone, bright as gold, through my window. I could smell spring on the air: the garden is crowded with daffodils and bluebells now. Even as I write, lambs are being born wet and bewildered, nuzzling at their mothers to get back to that dark, warm place where nothing can hurt them"
-Moments of beautiful writing, mainly in descriptions of nature
-The format was interesting and worked well - chapters were short and readable and the intertwining of these women's stories through time was clear
-Very natural magic system - in some ways I liked that it was vague and nature/power of women based, I like the feeling of oneness with the natural world being described. Also enjoyed the the familiars - that spiders and other insects were included. It is a sweet and sorrowful thing to imagine being comforted by a spider
-I liked Altha the best and ached for her. she was the loneliest of all
Cons:
-Less whimsical than I had expected (that's on me judging a book by it's cover!)
-More sexual violence than I had prepared for, beginning in the very first chapter, and happens to every Weyward narrator. Yes, this all has happened and is happening to women everywhere, but it's so triggering. and there are so few moments of joy. many moments of strength, but not of joy. Over and over I think that there are so many facets of resilience in women and you don't need to have them raped to prove the struggle. many white feminism concepts
-some of the writing was cliche or just to obvious
A quote I liked: "But the sun shone, bright as gold, through my window. I could smell spring on the air: the garden is crowded with daffodils and bluebells now. Even as I write, lambs are being born wet and bewildered, nuzzling at their mothers to get back to that dark, warm place where nothing can hurt them"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy