A review by himpersonal
The Frozen River by Ariel Lawhon

challenging dark emotional informative sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This is probably my favorite historical fiction work. Martha is formidable, compassionate, principled, and empowered. She goes head to head with an evil ogre and serial rapist, and she humiliates him over and over again. There was a lot of drama and action and plenty to mourn and plenty to celebrate.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Incest, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Deportation, and Pandemic/Epidemic