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A review by sarah984
As I Descended by Robin Talley
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This is a YA retelling of Macbeth set in a prestigious private high school. I was really impressed with the ways that the author managed to tie Macbeth into the modern-day setting (though naming the football field Dunsinane was a bit much), and some of the scares with the ghosts were great.
However, most of the characters were pretty shallow (they definitely felt like identities first and characters second), the plantation stuff felt unnecessary since nothing was ever really done with it, and the ending was kind of silly. Also, this may be shallow but the main character Maria was called "Ree" by all her friends and it really annoyed me. What kind of nickname is that? Who would use that to shorten Maria??
However, most of the characters were pretty shallow (they definitely felt like identities first and characters second), the plantation stuff felt unnecessary since nothing was ever really done with it, and the ending was kind of silly. Also, this may be shallow but the main character Maria was called "Ree" by all her friends and it really annoyed me. What kind of nickname is that? Who would use that to shorten Maria??
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Blood, Biphobia, Death, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child death and Slavery