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searchandrescueteam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Suddenly I simply became immersed in it. And it was worth persisting. The world built here is intricately described in the narrator’s matter-of-fact style - that is a constant guide for the reader.
The narrator's reflection on her time at “mundane” school and the way those experiences built her expectations of relationships and friendships in the future is poignant and important.
By the end I was hungering for the next one.
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
lirio_dendron's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Vomit and Grief
littlestdread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
scarlett_f'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Sexual content
torturedreadersdept'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: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Suicide
jaedia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Confinement, Abandonment, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, and Grief
ryyyaaan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
- El is a well rounded character who is easy for the reader to like despite her being disliked by other characters.
- The premise and plot is enjoyable and easy to get hooked into.
- The worldbuilding is fantastic. It’s woven into the text so well it never feels like slogging through pages and pages of lore.
- It’s funny at times without taking away from the atmosphere.
- A great stepping point between YA and adult fantasy
Negatives (nit-picking here, the book was great)
- I dislike El’s relationship with Orion towards the end.
It feels forced to me that she’s starting to have feelings for him already. Or, at all for that matter. They just don’t seem compatible to me. Also, small point, but El mentions wanting kids badly at one point, which feels so out of character for her. Maybe later depending on how she’s developed, but it just didn’t seem right to me.<\spoiler> - I desperately wish there was any queer rep at all
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Vomit, Murder, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Drug use, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
applezing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Drug use, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Classism
quirkykayleetam'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
4.0
In a school full of monsters where, it's established, the only way to survive is to look out for yourself, the prophecised Destroyer of the World discovers that she would rather help everyone else make it out too. And, yeah, she's grumpy about it.
El, full name Galadriel, has seen how the system works, how it throws anyone not born in The Right Families under the bus. She's focused on being smart to stay Not Evil and alive. Then she meets Orion, the Boy Wonder, who comes from privilege, but has been White Knighting his way through the school, saving everyone who can, and she tells him that he's doing this in the stupidest way possible.
Watch El and Orion join forces, make friends (a new concept), and maybe find a way to make things better for the future.
El's snarky, suspicious, and permanent pissed first-person narration makes this book a hilarious read that tackles racism, classism, bullying, grief, and how freaking annoying it is to be a good person sometimes, even when you discover it's the only thing you can bring yourself to do.
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, and Classism
takarakei's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Racism, Grief, and Pregnancy