A review by quartzier
You Feel It Just Below the Ribs by Jeffrey Cranor, Janina Matthewson

dark reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book will make you think. If you're interested in sociology, psychology, apocalypse, utopian and dystopian themes, it will definitely enhance your experience of the book. I would beat describe the genre as cerebral horror. The tone is increasingly ominous as you read, and the ending is very much *not* cut and dry, with everything all wrapped up neatly for us, bow and all. I absolutely loved that for this book, and it made me obsessed with the lore and determined to listen to the podcast (Within The Wires) that also takes place in this world- I'm hoping for more lore, because I'm a little bit addicted to the concept and enthralled with the execution. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: War, Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pregnancy, Torture, and Confinement

Minor: Gore

The themes of this book are inherently datk but are told in retrospect by the narrator and are presented very matter-of-factly for most of the book (as opposed to being written as colorfully and explicitly as possible in order to elicit intense emotional responses from the reader) and in a fairly mild (if sometimes ominous or unsettling) tone. I flagged a lot of content warnings for this book, but many of them are only mildly included, mentioned, and/or moved past and not dwelt upon.