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emmakrof's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is now one of my favorite books!! The story is unique and sci-fi-esque, but what really sold me was the characters themselves.
Often, I feel like authors fall back on one-dimensional stereotypes to describe mentally ill or traumatized characters; they’ll list symptoms from the DSM and call it a day. But Pokwatka paints a more nuanced picture: sometimes, how Pepper feels and how she acts make no sense, even to her. She feels incredibly human. Pokwatka has managed to capture aspects of mental illness (or even human nature in general) that have always been so difficult for me to describe.
Furthermore, I love the varied, realistic ways the people in Pepper’s life react to her. Her moms are immediately and unconditionally accepting, while her husband struggles to be supportive because he thinks he needs to understand the reasoning behind her actions. Dealing with other humans can be difficult, but I think this book shows that it’s worth the effort.
Finally, I want to talk about Ula. Pepper’s (lack of a) relationship with Ula has been a source of pain and grief her whole life. When she finally meets Ula, it’s clear that Ula views Pepper as a tool more than a person with her own thoughts and feelings. But this is how Ula treats the other versions off her too — she ripped them from their universes with no consideration for their lives and feelings because she was lonely. And because she did not try to empathize or understand others, Ula suffered greatly. There is so much to unpack, but my main takeaway from this book was being emotionally vulnerable and putting in the effort to understand others is the key to living a fulfilling life.
Often, I feel like authors fall back on one-dimensional stereotypes to describe mentally ill or traumatized characters; they’ll list symptoms from the DSM and call it a day. But Pokwatka paints a more nuanced picture: sometimes, how Pepper feels and how she acts make no sense, even to her. She feels incredibly human. Pokwatka has managed to capture aspects of mental illness (or even human nature in general) that have always been so difficult for me to describe.
Furthermore, I love the varied, realistic ways the people in Pepper’s life react to her.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Body horror and Death of parent