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aoiferyan's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I really liked how different this book was. It was my first time ever reading a book from animals’ perspectives. At times I found it difficult to read due to the nature of the explicit themes. I liked how different characters that were introduced had their stories cross over. It was a bittersweet end and I really found Ea to be a compelling character.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Sexual assault, and Murder
quinzel_14's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced
3.5
Beautifully written with captivating world-building and an engaging cast of characters, Pod presents a solid story; however, the degree of violence and tragedy makes the novel incredibly hard to read throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gore, and Rape
loesm's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Physical abuse
natalie_h's review against another edition
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Blood
Moderate: Rape
kamuffel's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I Never expected to be so invested into a story written from dolphins/fish perspective. While there were a few things I did not really need (heteronormative love story between two of the animals) I do see how it helped to be really invested with their fate. It is incredibly smart and intensely confronting. For anybody who is passionate about , or even I interested in, the climate crisis, pollution, over fishing, marine creatures, this is a big recommendation.
I will think about this book for some time, and personified animals are definitely not new. But this one hit differently
I will think about this book for some time, and personified animals are definitely not new. But this one hit differently
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
alargelady's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
I read this after watching a Leena Norms video talking about this book, I'm going to have to rewatch that video because this was nothing like what I was expecting. Interesting concept and unique perspective that flopped in the writing and plot. The writing was all over the place, inconsistent use of terminology (e.g. sometimes the dolphins see moult and don't really know what it is, then they call it plastic, then they're back to calling it the strange moult again) and it felt like she had a thesaurus out to try to use more diverse words without getting the context right to use them. The amount of (and description of) rape was grotesque but in a way that did not contribute to the story and overall message. If the goal of the story is to make us think critically about anthropogenic changes in the ocean, why does the main character need to get raped by 4 different dolphins multiple times? Too many POVs to have satisfying character development for them all. For example the wrasse storyline.. what did that contribute to the story? I kept reading just to see if the ending justified the discomfort of the story.. it did not.
Lastly, as a biologist it annoys me to no end she describes spinner and bottlenose dolphins as 2 different races of the same species and in the prologue they're a hybrid colony mating together. They are in fact different species (AND GENUS!) that would not be able to have viable offspring. After all the research she claimed to do, this was a strange fabrication.
Lastly, as a biologist it annoys me to no end she describes spinner and bottlenose dolphins as 2 different races of the same species and in the prologue they're a hybrid colony mating together. They are in fact different species (AND GENUS!) that would not be able to have viable offspring. After all the research she claimed to do, this was a strange fabrication.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape
emmathomasina's review against another edition
Too sad
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape
emelynreads's review against another edition
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
I promise if you push through the first ~75 pages it is all worth it for the dramatic ending. Be wary of many fish sex scenes and fish SA.
The story notes just broke my heart. A tragic and epic tale of survival and critique of human treatment of the ocean and its animals.
The story notes just broke my heart. A tragic and epic tale of survival and critique of human treatment of the ocean and its animals.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Rape
headstuckinabook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is hard to rate. I did go into it after Lena Norms review so was expecting something different.
There are difficult themes (see content warnings) but most of all its a book on climate change, whilst about dolphins you can see how we could end up in similar dire straights.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and War
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, and Blood
Minor: Death of parent
laurenbastian's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
A terrifying and tragic story that shows us exactly the harm we do to our neighbors on this planet. The story is about dolphins and the complex and sometimes horrifying power dynamics and social structures of the ocean. But it is also about how, amidst and underpinning it all, humans have pushed these aquatic communities to annihilation. This is a book of climate grief that does not shy away from gore and violence.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation