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amyford'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
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Grief, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
lukereads17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Child death and Domestic abuse
froothie'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
4.25
Moderate: Child death and Racism
ada_elisabeth'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
5.0
Let's begin with what I loved about this book, because there was a lot:
I loved the unique voices/narration styles of each of the characters. It took me a while to appreciate this, but I really liked how different each of the girls' voices were: Ruth May, the baby, was obviously innocent, hilarious, and naive, while Leah's style was very straightforward and to-the-point. Although I initially didn't like Rachel's jaded whining, I found her parts to be easy to read and even funny at times, especially once I caught on to her malapropisms. Adah was undeniably my favorite because I felt her perspective to be the most similar to what mine would be: I found her questions to be the most introspective, her observations to be the most interesting, and her poems and palindromes to be downright delightful. Although Adah was a clear favorite of mine, Ruth May was not far behind, and
- The side characters were also extremely fleshed out and realistic. The different quirks and idiosyncrasies of each character made them multi-dimensional and exceedingly human. Even Nathan, who was frankly insane, had a well-developed character. Although I complained many times about the length of this book, I really do appreciate the way the story unfolds over several decades, following the girls as they grow into women and continue with their lives. I almost wish more of the novel had been dedicated to their adult lives; I found them to be much more interesting than chapter after chapter of teenagers in the Congo.
- The writing was simply phenomenal. The simple elegance of the syntax and the extremely well-curated word choice made this such an amazing read. Even in characters with more simple ways of speaking, such as Ruth May or Rachel, Kingsolver's masterful writing shines through.
Things I didn't like:
- This book was LONG. Over five hundred pages, making it the third(?) fourth(?) 500+ page book I've read this year, which I'm pretty sure is more than I read in the entirety of 2023. It took me weeks to get the the three hundredth page, only for me to sit down on the first day of summer break and finish the entire thing, reading over two hundred and forty pages in just a few hours. I don't actually have a complaint about this book's length, because I think it was perfect for what it was, but I wish I had had more time to read during the school year.
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5/5 stars, nearly perfect. Shout-out Jen for giving me this for my birthday, sorry it took me so long to get around to it lol.
There were so many beautiful, beautiful passages in this book that I had some difficulty selecting a quote, but I've picked one that sums up the entire thing pretty well:
"To live is to be marked. To live is to change, to acquire the words of a story, and that is the only celebration we mortals really know. In perfect stillness, frankly, I've only found sorrow.
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual harassment
scramuel058'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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Slavery and War
wordsmithreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Racism, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, and War
Minor: Infertility, Infidelity, Cannibalism, and Death of parent
porktheorc'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: Child abuse, Child death, and Colonisation
bookish_bry'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
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Misogyny, Racism, and Grief
fpcat99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
jennmb'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death