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zombiezami's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Vomit, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
colorismmysteryspouse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Vomit, and Dysphoria
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Excrement
dhwani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder
kimi72714's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Death of parent
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Excrement, and Vomit
There are distressing themes in this book, but they are within context, handled well in the text, and to be expected for a book about young, female soldiers.roguebelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
For frequent readers of YA fantasy, the general patterns and tropes will be apparent from "go". A sixteen year old girl faces a Ritual (yes, capitalized) dictated by her patriarchal and puritanical society. Things go Terribly Wrong because she is Different, and in the rest of the story, she must Embrace Her Destiny (capitalizations mine, here). Standard fare, but it's certainly nice to see more diversity applied to those tropes.
The religious themes are heavy-handed with little room for nuance, but in a way that's fairly typical for the genre. The story's "big twist" is easy to see coming a mile away for any genre-savvy reader, and getting to that point is a bit of a bumpy ride. The narrative sort of careens between training montages and infodumps, without giving us a lot of time to appreciate the characters. We're often informed about personalities, but we get less opportunity to see them on display.
The predictable YA romance is predictable and rather boring. There was absolutely a more interesting choice, and if I continue with this series, it would mostly be to see if the author pulls a bait-and-switch on the expected direction and makes the bolder choice later on.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Minor: Excrement and Vomit