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toggle_fow's Reviews (1.05k)
Terrifying.
This book is simple, told in a matter-of-fact understated style that clearly evokes the eleven-year-old girl's experiences. Confusion and survival on every page. It's easy to see that this was written more as an inward-turned healing, reflective exercise than a spit-and-polished narrative crafted for public consumption.
The plain, honest prose is easy to read. The content is equally honest, and is not.
A less scary detail that stands out almost as much is how much Ms. Dugard loves animals. There is more content here about the various pets and animals she interacted with over the years than the big events of her captive life. That must be part of how she survived -- focusing on what she loved and letting everything else become just background. There is very little anger allowed in this book, and more of it is focused on one of her captors' negligent care of a parakeet than anything that happened to herself.
I've read several survivor memoirs before, and it's crazy how easily something becomes your new reality. Humans are wired to adapt to live. It's the difficulty people in ordinary abusive relationships have wrapping their head around what's happening to them, turned up to Stockholm Syndrome level ten. In this, Ms. Dugard's psychic scars are still visible. It will be the work of a lifetime to overturn all the survival mechanisms she learned so well, and after so long in captivity, what would you expect?
It's also crazy that people seem to only very rarely be rescued by intrepid police work. Nine out of ten times, it seems like they owe their rescue to:
It scares me to know that in that situation, most of the time no one is coming for you.
This book is simple, told in a matter-of-fact understated style that clearly evokes the eleven-year-old girl's experiences. Confusion and survival on every page. It's easy to see that this was written more as an inward-turned healing, reflective exercise than a spit-and-polished narrative crafted for public consumption.
The plain, honest prose is easy to read. The content is equally honest, and is not.
A less scary detail that stands out almost as much is how much Ms. Dugard loves animals. There is more content here about the various pets and animals she interacted with over the years than the big events of her captive life. That must be part of how she survived -- focusing on what she loved and letting everything else become just background. There is very little anger allowed in this book, and more of it is focused on one of her captors' negligent care of a parakeet than anything that happened to herself.
I've read several survivor memoirs before, and it's crazy how easily something becomes your new reality. Humans are wired to adapt to live. It's the difficulty people in ordinary abusive relationships have wrapping their head around what's happening to them, turned up to Stockholm Syndrome level ten. In this, Ms. Dugard's psychic scars are still visible. It will be the work of a lifetime to overturn all the survival mechanisms she learned so well, and after so long in captivity, what would you expect?
It's also crazy that people seem to only very rarely be rescued by intrepid police work. Nine out of ten times, it seems like they owe their rescue to:
• Being brazenly paraded about in public by an overconfident captor, sure of his power over them.
• A criminal's family member snitching on them.
• Their own intrepid escape.
It scares me to know that in that situation, most of the time no one is coming for you.
This was very... alright.
You could still tell it was Sanderson from the:
Some things were interesting. The twist on the usual superhero narrative where using your superpower inherently corrupts you is a unique one. I have to admit that I would have a really rough time choosing to not use my superpower in a world like this. Like? Not gonna lie, I'm sure I would tell myself "look, it's just once, what could it hurt?" one too many times and end up completely evil before I knew it.
Everything else was aggressively mediocre. The characters especially.
David, as a main character, was okay but definitely on the annoying side. His comic relief especially was grating, and so was that wacko Scottish-not-Scottish guy. I wish he would just stop talking. Nobody else but the Professor really even stood out, and even he seems sort of bland. (HOW many times can you call random youths "son" before they put you in jail just for being irritating??) The romance was underbaked, which was good, but unfortunately I'm sure there's more to come in further books.
I am interested in the next installment in the series MOSTLY to find out about plot details. What is the Calamity? What caused it? Was there really mass experimentation on Epics, and what did it reveal? Why is that one energy guy still totally mild-mannered after using his powers all day every day for years? Outside of that, this book falls squarely in the forgettable middle of the YA bell curve.
You could still tell it was Sanderson from the:
• Worldbuilding-as-plot. The process of bit-by-bit discovering what created the Epics and what makes them tick is what drives the story forward, athough to a much lesser extent than his adult fiction. There's a much more generous amount of sheer action here.
• Really really awkward fake swears.
Some things were interesting. The twist on the usual superhero narrative where using your superpower inherently corrupts you is a unique one. I have to admit that I would have a really rough time choosing to not use my superpower in a world like this. Like? Not gonna lie, I'm sure I would tell myself "look, it's just once, what could it hurt?" one too many times and end up completely evil before I knew it.
Everything else was aggressively mediocre. The characters especially.
David, as a main character, was okay but definitely on the annoying side. His comic relief especially was grating, and so was that wacko Scottish-not-Scottish guy. I wish he would just stop talking. Nobody else but the Professor really even stood out, and even he seems sort of bland. (HOW many times can you call random youths "son" before they put you in jail just for being irritating??) The romance was underbaked, which was good, but unfortunately I'm sure there's more to come in further books.
I am interested in the next installment in the series MOSTLY to find out about plot details. What is the Calamity? What caused it? Was there really mass experimentation on Epics, and what did it reveal? Why is that one energy guy still totally mild-mannered after using his powers all day every day for years? Outside of that, this book falls squarely in the forgettable middle of the YA bell curve.
I didn't even want to read this book.
I requested it from the library as a sort of sunk cost obligation, and when I got pinged that it was ready to download, my only real reaction was UGH. I was never really into Ronan as a character anyway. And I don't even like dreams. I hate dream sequences and the ooo nothing's real and nothing makes sense~ nature of them.
I didn't even like TRC that much anyway, I thought to myself. I mean, sure if you look back, all my reviews give ridiculously high star ratings. But I have almost zero memory of anything that went on in those books. It's like it was all a mirage that faded away as soon as my eyes left the page. If I really liked them that much, wouldn't I remember them?
So. Here I am yet again, having to say it:
This book was REALLY GOOD.
Imagine me going into reading it with the disgruntled, prejudiced attitude above. And then, by chapter three, being completely invested, absolutely dying to keep reading. And the chapters aren't even long. It's truly a miracle. I even laughed out loud more than once.
Ronan, come into his own, is a fabulous character. Declan's perspective was awesome to get, and I'm so interested in who Matthew will become now that he has the potential to grow beyond a dream caricature. There's so much else going on, too, so many secrets and mysteries to unravel. Stiefvater's unique prose and creative language (while sometimes verging on what the hell does that mean, Maggie-type metaphors) are still fresh, making you look at things in a new, often funny way.
This book kept kept me riveted until the last page, and I can't wait for the next one. (Though there's a distinct possibility that by then, I may have forgotten this as well.)
I requested it from the library as a sort of sunk cost obligation, and when I got pinged that it was ready to download, my only real reaction was UGH. I was never really into Ronan as a character anyway. And I don't even like dreams. I hate dream sequences and the ooo nothing's real and nothing makes sense~ nature of them.
I didn't even like TRC that much anyway, I thought to myself. I mean, sure if you look back, all my reviews give ridiculously high star ratings. But I have almost zero memory of anything that went on in those books. It's like it was all a mirage that faded away as soon as my eyes left the page. If I really liked them that much, wouldn't I remember them?
So. Here I am yet again, having to say it:
This book was REALLY GOOD.
Imagine me going into reading it with the disgruntled, prejudiced attitude above. And then, by chapter three, being completely invested, absolutely dying to keep reading. And the chapters aren't even long. It's truly a miracle. I even laughed out loud more than once.
Ronan, come into his own, is a fabulous character. Declan's perspective was awesome to get, and I'm so interested in who Matthew will become now that he has the potential to grow beyond a dream caricature. There's so much else going on, too, so many secrets and mysteries to unravel. Stiefvater's unique prose and creative language (while sometimes verging on what the hell does that mean, Maggie-type metaphors) are still fresh, making you look at things in a new, often funny way.
This book kept kept me riveted until the last page, and I can't wait for the next one. (Though there's a distinct possibility that by then, I may have forgotten this as well.)
This book was good. I would give it 3.5 stars if I could.
Was it as good as Sky in the Deep? Absolutely not.
The split narrative between Tova and Halvard coupled with frequent flashbacks took some getting into before it stopped being jarring. The prose is as good as you would expect, but the depth of relationships just weren't there, in comparison. Even the cameo presence of Iri, Fiske, and Eelyn didn't fully carry it for me.
The most emotionally weighty relationships were the ones between Tova and the Svell men who had manipulated and threatened her for so long. Her story was an interesting one, and I wish there had been more background into her past and what the stones mean. Even though I wanted to, it just felt like I couldn't fully invest -- far too little was given. That goes for the romance, such as it was, between her and Halvard as well. In order to care, I just need more.
Was it as good as Sky in the Deep? Absolutely not.
The split narrative between Tova and Halvard coupled with frequent flashbacks took some getting into before it stopped being jarring. The prose is as good as you would expect, but the depth of relationships just weren't there, in comparison. Even the cameo presence of Iri, Fiske, and Eelyn didn't fully carry it for me.
The most emotionally weighty relationships were the ones between Tova and the Svell men who had manipulated and threatened her for so long. Her story was an interesting one, and I wish there had been more background into her past and what the stones mean. Even though I wanted to, it just felt like I couldn't fully invest -- far too little was given. That goes for the romance, such as it was, between her and Halvard as well. In order to care, I just need more.
This series was absorbing from start to finish, and in my opinion the final installment is possibly the strongest book.
This one finally goes on to tackle the consequences unleashed by everyone's choices thus far -- full on Civil War. Kristos, Theodor, and Sophie are all coming into their own as revolutionary, leader, and magician respectively. The conflict doesn't drag on and on for ages, but at the same time I felt like everything important was dealt with in a satisfying, detailed way.
Sophie remained the kind of character that she has always been: soft hearted, hard-working, and violence-averse. This had the potential to be annoying, but not everyone in the world is hardcore and gung ho to shoot other people, and that's a completely valid way to be, even if it is a little inconvenient in the middle of a civil war.
I was surprised by how annoying it wasn't.
Sophie's magic had a big part to play in many of the rebels' strategies, but I liked how they worked with her temperament and her talents to find the best role for her in any situation. It's not the usual battle mage, flinging lightning bolts type magic, but I still love the worldbuilding and how Sophie's capabilities continued to be discovered bit by bit. There was much less fabric involved in this last book, unfortunately, but she still managed to toss some of that in, even in a rebel camp.
Even Kristos was less annoying than usual. He and Theodor had come to an understanding, which saved us all from tearing our own eyes out having to read their dialogue. The comparison is also flattering to Kristos whenever Niko happens to be there. To me, the campaign was interesting, but probably the least interesting and realistic part of the book. (Way too short, and the whole sudden navy out of nowhere thing stretched credibility.) The real fun is to be found in the changes the country is going through, and the political and social tensions that have to be dealt with.
What really solidified my respect for this book is that a whole twenty percent of it took place AFTER the war was won!
Whenever there's any kind of social revolution or civil war storyline, I'm always hungering for more specifics about what everything is going to look like afterward, and books like this almost never provide. The post-war negotiations and arguments about what the government will look like, and infighting between factions, and Sophie figuring out what life will look like for her now, and people trying to put their lives back together... it's my jam. I'm so happy it was included.
From that point on, absolutely no punches were pulled. Theodor having to watch the executions of his family members? The, um, DEATH? Which I was absolutely not expecting and am still not quite fully reconciled to, thanks? If their attempt at women's suffrage had soundly failed, cultural strife between Pellia and Galitha had sharply spiked, and corruption had immediately become endemic, it might almost have attained lifelike realism.
As it was... it suffices as a bittersweet, but still satisfying ending to an overall enjoyable series.
This one finally goes on to tackle the consequences unleashed by everyone's choices thus far -- full on Civil War. Kristos, Theodor, and Sophie are all coming into their own as revolutionary, leader, and magician respectively. The conflict doesn't drag on and on for ages, but at the same time I felt like everything important was dealt with in a satisfying, detailed way.
Sophie remained the kind of character that she has always been: soft hearted, hard-working, and violence-averse. This had the potential to be annoying, but not everyone in the world is hardcore and gung ho to shoot other people, and that's a completely valid way to be, even if it is a little inconvenient in the middle of a civil war.
I was surprised by how annoying it wasn't.
Sophie's magic had a big part to play in many of the rebels' strategies, but I liked how they worked with her temperament and her talents to find the best role for her in any situation. It's not the usual battle mage, flinging lightning bolts type magic, but I still love the worldbuilding and how Sophie's capabilities continued to be discovered bit by bit. There was much less fabric involved in this last book, unfortunately, but she still managed to toss some of that in, even in a rebel camp.
Even Kristos was less annoying than usual. He and Theodor had come to an understanding, which saved us all from tearing our own eyes out having to read their dialogue. The comparison is also flattering to Kristos whenever Niko happens to be there. To me, the campaign was interesting, but probably the least interesting and realistic part of the book. (Way too short, and the whole sudden navy out of nowhere thing stretched credibility.) The real fun is to be found in the changes the country is going through, and the political and social tensions that have to be dealt with.
What really solidified my respect for this book is that a whole twenty percent of it took place AFTER the war was won!
Whenever there's any kind of social revolution or civil war storyline, I'm always hungering for more specifics about what everything is going to look like afterward, and books like this almost never provide. The post-war negotiations and arguments about what the government will look like, and infighting between factions, and Sophie figuring out what life will look like for her now, and people trying to put their lives back together... it's my jam. I'm so happy it was included.
From that point on, absolutely no punches were pulled. Theodor having to watch the executions of his family members? The, um, DEATH? Which I was absolutely not expecting and am still not quite fully reconciled to, thanks? If their attempt at women's suffrage had soundly failed, cultural strife between Pellia and Galitha had sharply spiked, and corruption had immediately become endemic, it might almost have attained lifelike realism.
As it was... it suffices as a bittersweet, but still satisfying ending to an overall enjoyable series.
This was amazing.
Even in the original Harriet book, Sport stood out as one of the most interesting characters. He and Harriet live nearly opposite experiences: her always seeking new things from her position in a sometimes-nearly-too-stable family, and him desperately seeking some stability to shore up the quicksand that is his life.
This book tells his story, expanding on the tiny fragments we got to see in Harriet the Spy, and I loved it. This is definitely the most high-stakes book in the series. No need for Sport to go around looking for half-made-up mysteries to solve -- his life already has far too much adventure, including two kidnappings, a dangerous run-in with the cops, and amounts of money most people can only dream of.
Sport's rich mom reminds me of a lawful evil version of Beth Ellen's chaotic neutral mom from the second book. It's Sport's dad that really throws a different flavor into this story. He came off really badly in Harriet the Spy. His irresponsibility and parentification of his eleven-year-old son are almost impossible to see past for an outsider looking in, but looking at him from Sport's perspective, we get to see the brave, selfless, loving sides of him as well.
The addition of Kate to the household was really sweet, and made so much more of an impact on Sport than even the money. The kidnapping upped the tension in the book, but not nearly as much as the encounter with the police. False witness is one of the worst, most stressful things in the world -- but the payoff was great, especially the contrast between when the police take Sport to his mom's house, versus when they finally make it to his dad's.
I didn't mention Harriet, because she's barely in two scenes. She wasn't even really rude once, which shows you how minimal her impact was on the story. Would it have been nice if she showed up more? Sure. But you know what? This book doesn't need her. It's great just the way it is.
Even in the original Harriet book, Sport stood out as one of the most interesting characters. He and Harriet live nearly opposite experiences: her always seeking new things from her position in a sometimes-nearly-too-stable family, and him desperately seeking some stability to shore up the quicksand that is his life.
This book tells his story, expanding on the tiny fragments we got to see in Harriet the Spy, and I loved it. This is definitely the most high-stakes book in the series. No need for Sport to go around looking for half-made-up mysteries to solve -- his life already has far too much adventure, including two kidnappings, a dangerous run-in with the cops, and amounts of money most people can only dream of.
Sport's rich mom reminds me of a lawful evil version of Beth Ellen's chaotic neutral mom from the second book. It's Sport's dad that really throws a different flavor into this story. He came off really badly in Harriet the Spy. His irresponsibility and parentification of his eleven-year-old son are almost impossible to see past for an outsider looking in, but looking at him from Sport's perspective, we get to see the brave, selfless, loving sides of him as well.
The addition of Kate to the household was really sweet, and made so much more of an impact on Sport than even the money. The kidnapping upped the tension in the book, but not nearly as much as the encounter with the police. False witness is one of the worst, most stressful things in the world -- but the payoff was great, especially the contrast between when the police take Sport to his mom's house, versus when they finally make it to his dad's.
I didn't mention Harriet, because she's barely in two scenes. She wasn't even really rude once, which shows you how minimal her impact was on the story. Would it have been nice if she showed up more? Sure. But you know what? This book doesn't need her. It's great just the way it is.
This was VERY creepy and I loved it.
First of all, the twelve dancing princesses is my favorite fairy tale. I was expecting this book to just have some sort of distant references, like some Cinderella re-tellings you see that are hardly recognizable. Instead, this book leaned WAY into the fairy tale, but took almost all the elements and transformed them into something with a totally different feel, which I enjoyed a lot.
This story starts off with a funeral, but still begins heavily on the fairy-tale side. The setting is very interesting and well-created, and the Thaumas family never lost my interest. As the mystery of the dancing and the "curse" begins to unspool, the book walks deeper and deeper into ghost story territory. The romance is a little bit undermined by the fact that you're half convinced every love interest is evil, but it doesn't matter as Annaleigh's discoveries begin to build up and the tension crescendos.
You knew that the haunting couldn't be the real sisters, but it's still creepy as heck. I was completely shocked by the truth about Fisher. After that point, it's obvious who is behind the curse, but with the threat of madness and feeling of helplessness rising, knowing doesn't reduce any of the tension.
First of all, the twelve dancing princesses is my favorite fairy tale. I was expecting this book to just have some sort of distant references, like some Cinderella re-tellings you see that are hardly recognizable. Instead, this book leaned WAY into the fairy tale, but took almost all the elements and transformed them into something with a totally different feel, which I enjoyed a lot.
This story starts off with a funeral, but still begins heavily on the fairy-tale side. The setting is very interesting and well-created, and the Thaumas family never lost my interest. As the mystery of the dancing and the "curse" begins to unspool, the book walks deeper and deeper into ghost story territory. The romance is a little bit undermined by the fact that you're half convinced every love interest is evil, but it doesn't matter as Annaleigh's discoveries begin to build up and the tension crescendos.
You knew that the haunting couldn't be the real sisters, but it's still creepy as heck. I was completely shocked by the truth about Fisher. After that point, it's obvious who is behind the curse, but with the threat of madness and feeling of helplessness rising, knowing doesn't reduce any of the tension.
This was a general meh.
The first book in this series was fun and creepy. This one takes Sunshine away from Nolan and her mom and in doing so moves the foundation of the whole story line. The mysteries behind Sunshine's birth parents and her powers are interesting enough, but for me there was none of the emotional involvement that the first installment provoked.
The first book in this series was fun and creepy. This one takes Sunshine away from Nolan and her mom and in doing so moves the foundation of the whole story line. The mysteries behind Sunshine's birth parents and her powers are interesting enough, but for me there was none of the emotional involvement that the first installment provoked.
I was too generous to the second book in this trilogy. In retrospect, I see my folly. This is a three star book, and in comparison, THAT was a two-star book. I've rectified the problem now.
Anyway, I hope you can hear the venom in my voice when I say that this was FINE. One might even go so far as to say it was perfectly adequate.
Book three isn't nearly as torturous as book two was, mostly because Kaito is safely dead. That horrendously annoying odyssey is never to be repeated and, though Archer does spend a few moments staring into the middle distance, he's entirely bearable here in comparison. The biggest tragedy of this series overall is how much I LOVED Archer in the first book and now can only come around to a sort of bland acceptance of him. Where did it go? Where did we lose it?
The answer is obvious: book two.
Book one had such potential, but some things can't be salvaged.
This series just has SO much scope and so little heart in comparison. Sure, Sefia and Archer love each other soooo much -- but usually I get irritated when later-series books spend too much time rehashing the "previously on." In this book, I need all the rehashing, because I have straight up forgotten everything that happened before. Because it's so hard to care. Among the names and places and people and powers and teleporting from one ship I barely remember to the next ship I barely remember... anything that I might have felt for anyone involved in this adventure was just buried. I got nothing.
My next beef is the overall wrap-up. WHEN will a YA book execute the "written word as magic" concept in a COMPELLING way? I've seen it so many times, and it falls flat again and again. This book comes so much closer than most, but still falls short of tying everything together.
The Narrator as an all-seeing but powerless entity is interesting in a sort of I Am the Messenger way, but then... that ending. Everything happens just as the prophecy said, all along. The mysterious "she" who controlled everyone's fate is never revealed, and what was the point of what just happened? Why did the Guard bring all this about, knowing what fate had already decreed for them? Why were we just told this entire story that purports to be about love and freedom, and what exactly are we supposed to take away from it? Destiny is inescapable? Free will is an illusion?
The only bright spot we have here is Eduaro. He was the only bright spot in the second book too, and he really shines here. Honestly, the whole story could have been about him and his arc, and I would have enjoyed the heck out of it. He's great.
As for the rest? Vague and unsatisfying. I'm unsatisfied. Also, I continue to steadfastly dislike Captain Reed, and the Brother is a stupid name for a ship.
Anyway, I hope you can hear the venom in my voice when I say that this was FINE. One might even go so far as to say it was perfectly adequate.
Book three isn't nearly as torturous as book two was, mostly because Kaito is safely dead. That horrendously annoying odyssey is never to be repeated and, though Archer does spend a few moments staring into the middle distance, he's entirely bearable here in comparison. The biggest tragedy of this series overall is how much I LOVED Archer in the first book and now can only come around to a sort of bland acceptance of him. Where did it go? Where did we lose it?
The answer is obvious: book two.
Book one had such potential, but some things can't be salvaged.
This series just has SO much scope and so little heart in comparison. Sure, Sefia and Archer love each other soooo much -- but usually I get irritated when later-series books spend too much time rehashing the "previously on." In this book, I need all the rehashing, because I have straight up forgotten everything that happened before. Because it's so hard to care. Among the names and places and people and powers and teleporting from one ship I barely remember to the next ship I barely remember... anything that I might have felt for anyone involved in this adventure was just buried. I got nothing.
My next beef is the overall wrap-up. WHEN will a YA book execute the "written word as magic" concept in a COMPELLING way? I've seen it so many times, and it falls flat again and again. This book comes so much closer than most, but still falls short of tying everything together.
The Narrator as an all-seeing but powerless entity is interesting in a sort of I Am the Messenger way, but then... that ending. Everything happens just as the prophecy said, all along. The mysterious "she" who controlled everyone's fate is never revealed, and what was the point of what just happened? Why did the Guard bring all this about, knowing what fate had already decreed for them? Why were we just told this entire story that purports to be about love and freedom, and what exactly are we supposed to take away from it? Destiny is inescapable? Free will is an illusion?
The only bright spot we have here is Eduaro. He was the only bright spot in the second book too, and he really shines here. Honestly, the whole story could have been about him and his arc, and I would have enjoyed the heck out of it. He's great.
As for the rest? Vague and unsatisfying. I'm unsatisfied. Also, I continue to steadfastly dislike Captain Reed, and the Brother is a stupid name for a ship.
A bit of an odd book, but I guess it's the point of Harriet the Spy books to be more than a bit odd.
Anyway, this one was about Beth Ellen Hansen grappling with her identity and her place in the world. Meanwhile, Harriet is there also being by turns a friend and the absolute scourge of polite society.
I can't tell if I'm just biased from too many re-reads, or if Beth Ellen's perspective is less vitally weird and compelling than Harriet's, but this book was enjoyable regardless. Fitzhugh's sophisticated ability to convey a very specific feeling while not ever spelling it out exactly and making sure you know the character feeling it doesn't understand what they're feeling is as good as ever. The amount of religion in this installment felt a little strange, but I guess you do need new thorny topics to tackle in Fitzhugh's sideways way.
Harriet's parents are particularly excellent in this, and Beth Ellen's grandmother is a great character as well. Beth Ellen's story, while more low-key than being inside Harriet's mind, is a very satisfying one. You can't help but feel how powerful and freed she feels by the end.
Anyway, this one was about Beth Ellen Hansen grappling with her identity and her place in the world. Meanwhile, Harriet is there also being by turns a friend and the absolute scourge of polite society.
I can't tell if I'm just biased from too many re-reads, or if Beth Ellen's perspective is less vitally weird and compelling than Harriet's, but this book was enjoyable regardless. Fitzhugh's sophisticated ability to convey a very specific feeling while not ever spelling it out exactly and making sure you know the character feeling it doesn't understand what they're feeling is as good as ever. The amount of religion in this installment felt a little strange, but I guess you do need new thorny topics to tackle in Fitzhugh's sideways way.
Harriet's parents are particularly excellent in this, and Beth Ellen's grandmother is a great character as well. Beth Ellen's story, while more low-key than being inside Harriet's mind, is a very satisfying one. You can't help but feel how powerful and freed she feels by the end.