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uniquelymace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
hannahyorkey'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Rape, and Sexual assault
sierraclimbs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I did think the character voices were a little strange. Mostly Pamela seems very autism coded. Which is not a bad thing, but it made her actions a little less relatable. Again not a bad thing, but I think I would have enjoyed the book more if I could relate to the main character’s actions more.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Alcohol
shelbtastic96'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? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
lexcellent'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
slsulli'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, and Murder
bellsdixon'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Gun violence, Stalking, and Pregnancy
kjlewis494'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Lesbophobia
floralfox'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? No
4.5
1974: Ruth Wachowski meets Tina at a complex grief group, a place for women to process and work through their complicated feelings about the loss of someone they both loved and were hurt by. Ruth is mourning her father, but at first, we learn little about how he treated her and are exposed to her overbearing, victim-complex mother, who punishes Ruth with silence, tears, and unfair accusations. She also forces Ruth to parade around her ex-husband—a man who cheated on his wife with her when she was just 17, only to turn around and do the same thing to her with an even younger woman. Mrs. Wachowski is deeply concerned about appearances, about the image of a picture-perfect family more than doing anything to create a reality of a family bound together by love or any sort of compassion. Ruth withers in her shadow, and her ill-treatment manifests in acne and facial pocks that make her feel deeply insecure and ugly. Tina sees Ruth for who she truly is, though, and they develop a friendship that soon turns romantic. The narrative moves backward to reveal the truth about Ruth's father and as it propels Ruth forward to her untimely demise at the hands of The Defendant.
40+ years later: Pamela receives a letter that gives her hope that Tina will finally get some closure to her grief since Tina's body was never recovered.
PROS: I loved the complex, multi-layered, realistic characters. The novel was a gripping and realistic portrayal of love, loss and grief, and later-1970s mindsets and socialization regarding gender and sexuality. The backstories were well-developed and the sexism the women faced was insidiously commonplace and all too familiar. I really liked the exploration of the strained mother/daughter relationships between Ruth and Mrs. Wachowski and Pamela and Mrs. Schumacher, and the clarity that was given to the latter relationship.
CONS: The structure allows for the 1970s timelines to have references to what will happen far into the future. This sets up a lot of tension as she hints and foreshadows what the result of her mistakes will be, but I often found that what was set up didn't feel like it was executed didn't match (often in a way where the reality wasn't quite as bad as the expectation). This lead to some confusion and loss of impact. There were other places where I felt confused and had to reread, just because of wording and syntax. The present-day timeline was a little too stretched out and I often felt the explanations about the legal jurisdiction issues regarding Washington, Utah, Colorado, and Florida were a little hard to follow, too. Overall, these issues were minor, but kept me from giving the 5-star rating.
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Homophobia, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Murder
nat20composure's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
That aside, the book does a very good job of using the readers real world experienced and understanding of how victims are stripped of their personhood and picked apart to maintain a sense of fear and powerlessness. I found it impossible to not empathize with the main characters. Their actions, and the consequences of those actions, felt like my own. You know from the start how the book will end, and still, you're hopeful. Still, you bargain with it, begging it be different. Even when I wasn't reading it I was holding my breath with the girls, waiting for the verdict, waiting for closure. I will be thinking about them for a long, long while.
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Kidnapping, and Murder