studiomikarts 's review for:

A Game of Fox & Squirrels by Jenn Reese

3.0

adventurous mysterious tense fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

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When I started this book, as someone who has survived childhood abuse, I was afraid it would be triggering, even though I knew it was written for kids. I'm relieved to report that it wasn't. That aspect of the book was tactfully handled. In fact, it became a compelling element as the story developed and bits & pieces were dropped throughout, but never enough to turn the abuse itself into a source of amusement. Overall, the story was well-written and hard to stop reading, but there was one big thing that ruined it for me: speciesism. The author tried to incorporate other forward-thinking elements by including characters of all ages, sizes, sexual orientations, etc. but the only positive thing done for animals was to introduce the idea that providing "nonmeat" options should be normal. Otherwise, the book is chock full of speciesism and animal exploitation, from the backyard chickens, to the mountains of dairy and meat that all the human characters consume, to the stereotypical treatment of predator animals as fairytale villains. It's just impossible for me to enjoy a book that is trying so hard to help humans out of abusive situations while at the same time encouraging the entrapment of other animals in unimaginably worse ones.