irisandfoxglove's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Spoiler
I don’t understand why Becca met the fate that she did. Also, I cried when they mentioned the statue with the forget me nots at the end. She is a character I was sad to not see more development of, especially when reading the secret files.Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Pedophilia
Minor: Torture, Suicide attempt, Confinement, Death, Miscarriage, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Child death, and Emotional abuse
readbycarina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Death
Minor: Infidelity and Pregnancy
sophiesaurus91's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Sexual violence
Minor: Medical trauma
isabellesbookroom's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Minor: Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Rape, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Medical trauma
alannah_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
....guess it’s time to square up
For anyone who says this isn't a cash grab- c'mon. I'm always happy to give people the benefit of the doubt, but this really didn't need to happen. Weirdly I did enjoy this book for what it was, which was 'bad' YA-style dystopia a la Hunger Games, but there were a lot of flaws, and I question its Man Booker win. The plot was lazy and even harmful in it's clear allusions to the Elisa Lam case, and the ending (no spoilers) somehow retroactively spoiled THT for me. Also, (just a pet peeve) Atwood really fails to capture the voice of teenagers- it very much comes across as what news reports think 'the youth' sound like. HOWEVER, in contrast I really liked the Aunt Lydia sections; I wish they'd stood alone as a shorter book.
Pet Theory for this book: this book didn’t have enough depth for me to have theories
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Trafficking, and Violence
therobinjoyce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Margaret Atwood does it again with this thrilling sequel to The Handmaid's Tale.
I have no words to express how much I loved this book. The chopping between testaments from Aunt Lydia, Jade, and Agnes was wonderfully done and really invested me in the tales from Gilead and the lives of the women withing it.
The plot twists were epic and had me reeling, and the whole book from start to finish was gripping, chilling, and dastardly dark. Showing the true power of man's reach and the possibilities of what could happen if the world we live in is allowed to mimic history.
A well-deserved five star rating for such an exceptional book.
Graphic: Blood, Cursing, Death, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Violence, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Murder, Misogyny, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Homophobia, Infertility, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, and Confinement
Minor: Child death, Death of parent, Medical trauma, Infidelity, Sexual content, Pedophilia, and Rape
beauytoy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Moderate: Medical trauma and Rape
reb_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Spoiler
I feel like this book, although entertaining, didn't have the same value as the first. I was hoping that Atwood's resurrection of such an iconic text would add to the conversation of its source text and update it for modern feminism but it was still lacking in any sort of intersectional critique. Whereas the original played an important role in the conversation about reproductive rights in the 1980s, non of this was updated for a less white feminist view. It is still an important issue but I was disappointed Atwood didn't go beyond this. Furthermore, the use of Aunt Lydia felt like poor character development and that it actually undermined the work of the first book. The lack of continuity felt purely like a fan grab for shock factor, rather than creating a new and more genuine character to fill this role. Name dropping June at the end of the book also felt like a moment of fanfiction rather than a complex plot point, and I would have preferred this left ambiguous. The entire plot didn't need to continue to revolve around these two original characters to be valuable to their previous narrative.Spoiler
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, and Trafficking