A review by lydiahephzibah
The World Cannot Give by Tara Isabella Burton

dark reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Setting: Maine
Rep: queer protagonist & multiple queer side characters

This is a darker little book than I expected, though I should've figured from the comparison to The Secret History! I totally understand the comparison, it's as though The Secret History was set in a boarding school as opposed to college and centred on a confused sapphic girl who doesn't know what's good for her, who gets tangled up in a messy group of choir singers. In only 300 pages (and it's a pretty quick read, too), Burton paints a graphic picture of obsession and longing and a glimmer of religious trauma.