A review by amandadevoursbooks
Within These Wicked Walls by Lauren Blackwood

adventurous challenging dark funny hopeful mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

3.75

I loved the setting. I loved the description of Ethiopia and Ethiopian culture. The mystism and rituals involved with being a debterra were intriguing. The white staff refusing to take it seriously was apt. 

The story was a quick, thrilling read. The relationships are messy. The cross the tracks, employee/employer relationship was what I expect from YA. The silly banter for the ages of the characters

The resolution of the child abuse story arc 
is decidedly un-Western, and it will likely make some people, myself included, uncomfortable.


The relationship
 
while riveting, reinforces the damaging ideas that there's only one person who you can truly love, that relationships should be filled with arguments, that some amount of physical abuse is expected and tolerated from women to men, and that long term relationships are great when forged in the fire of crisis.


I'd recommend reading this book with a critical eye and enjoying the story for what it is: a thrilling novel with a love story. 

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