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A review by shelfmadewoman
Godshot by Chelsea Bieker
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Wow, so, Godshot was something to experience. What Bieker did incredibly well was balance interesting plot with fantastic character driven writing. This created an incredibly well-paced book that kept me turning pages but had me wishing that it would never end.
I loved watching our protagonist, Lacey May, and her development throughout the book. I sometime felt that the writing of her internal thoughts were... too on the nose? But I brushed that off with her young age and the trauma she was experiencing.
Oh, yeah, about the trauma. This is often where a book fails for me personally. Trauma/suicide as plot points are a sensitive subject as a suicide survivor. Personally, none of it really bothered me in this story. I felt that the trauma was rooted in the story. The suicides were explained and justified and not ignored by the author. This is difficult territory for storytelling, but I think it was mostly handled with care. I’d love to know how others felt on this.
This might be a good book for you if you like cult stories, mother-daughter relationships, and have a strong stomach.
I loved watching our protagonist, Lacey May, and her development throughout the book. I sometime felt that the writing of her internal thoughts were... too on the nose? But I brushed that off with her young age and the trauma she was experiencing.
Oh, yeah, about the trauma. This is often where a book fails for me personally. Trauma/suicide as plot points are a sensitive subject as a suicide survivor. Personally, none of it really bothered me in this story. I felt that the trauma was rooted in the story. The suicides were explained and justified and not ignored by the author. This is difficult territory for storytelling, but I think it was mostly handled with care. I’d love to know how others felt on this.
This might be a good book for you if you like cult stories, mother-daughter relationships, and have a strong stomach.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Abortion