tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Each character's voice was unique. The story was nothing that I've ever read and it was dark as anything. I was not prepared for so much death. I'm going with a 4 only because the writing style was so hard. I found skipping to the second person for stuff in the second act (don't wanna spoil) to be really rough and kind of jarring.
I do really like how important Denorah, the fourteen-year-old daughter of one of the originally introduced characters became. I liked following the plot through characters so that it felt character driven but still moved by the plot.
I'll definitely be reading this author again.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Vomit, Animal death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Death, Death of parent, and Violence
Moderate: Mental illness, Classism, Bullying, Hate crime, Sexism, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Drug use, and Drug abuse
reddeddy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Animal death, Body horror, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Gore, Grief, Suicide, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Cursing, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Addiction, Stalking, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Gaslighting, and Police brutality
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content
house_of_hannah'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
I really sympathize with all of the character's in this book. It's quite a tragic story, and is raw and brutal as well. I don't think I've read a story quite like this before, and it's leaving me feeling sad.
My only complaint is that it does drag at the end, and the climax is really drawn out. Stephen Graham Jones has a fantastic way of writing, and even though I did not enjoy his newest book, My Heart is a Chainsaw, I will be keeping an eye on his future releases.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Death of parent, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, and Racism
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Cultural appropriation