kaylaboevers'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
4.5
Graphic: Slavery, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Classism, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Genocide and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Sexual assault and Rape
osladek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Spoiler
that Inan dies and doesn't have a redemption arc because he absolutely did not deserve one after everythingGraphic: Death of parent, War, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Racism, Torture, Death, Child death, and Slavery
sosooo'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
4.5
Moderate: Racism
mochimustreads'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
5.0
Graphic: Torture, Violence, and Racism
pinkk_drink's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I guess it was supposed to be about zelie believing in herself? Or something? I never got a clear feel of her character it seemed like she just did things
Inan was a bitch all book and his romance with zélie was rushed and weird. Amari was good but I cant say much else. Not the worst I've read but it left me wishing it was better
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Violence, and Classism
Moderate: Rape
asiamh'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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Confinement, Racism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Body horror, Classism, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, Child death, Death of parent, Sexism, Grief, and Physical abuse
sweetnotbitter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Torture, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Sexual assault
secondhandbookshelves'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: Racism and Death
Moderate: War, Police brutality, Death of parent, Racism, and Slavery
Minor: Torture and Blood
squinnittowinit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Original review:
Overall, this is a good story with a (unfortunately) very relatable setting: an oppressive society that treats certain people as lesser due to something inherent that they cannot control. I felt the author's pain and anger surrounding this real-world issue in the writing, and perhaps if this had been my first exposure to the mindset of the oppressed group, I might have found it more impactful. However, I personally found it a little tiring for specific reasons that I will mark as a spoiler below.
Again, it is a good story, just one I've seen many times already. Nothing about it surprised me and as much as I was rooting for them, I didn't love any of the characters by the end. I'm not sure if you're supposed to or not.
Spoiler
The specific reasons I found this book to be tiring have a lot to do with the main characters. All three were naive to a fault, and retained that naivete throughout the entire book, even as their views on certain things changed. I suppose it's realistic, as they are all teenagers and teenagers are very naive, but I found it very frustrating to read about them doing impulsive and very ill-advised things over and over again and then only afterwards thinking that they might have been bad ideas.Next, there is the issue of trauma. This is a book based in racial trauma, which makes it automatically not a fun read for me. Again, I really want to stress that I'm not saying it's bad, but it's very real, and it's hard to laugh at any of the jokes or moments of levity when the whole book is about oppression and I already experience oppression nearly constantly in my real life.
Next, as I said above, nothing about this book surprised me. I was never on the edge of my seat or uncertain about the fate of the characters, because I've seen this story so many times. It hit all the beats I was expecting it to, and the only death I didn't predict was a character that I didn't care about at all.
Finally, the romance. I'm all for a good romantic subplot, but I couldn't get behind this one. It was going for "enemies to lovers" but was done with no subtlety, I felt like I was being bashed over the head with foreshadowing about this relationship. Then, the actual enemies to lovers part happened seemingly overnight, and they suddenly didn't hate each other anymore. The romance gave me some emotional whiplash and made me feel like I was missing time.
Graphic: Death, Child death, Racism, Genocide, Classism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, War, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Vomit, Mental illness, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
annorabrady'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
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, War, Racism, Grief, Child abuse, Death, Classism, Violence, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Murder, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Gaslighting, and Blood
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Child death
Minor: Trafficking, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Slavery