gobby_gilbert's review
- 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? No
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Grief, Death of parent, Abortion, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Mental illness, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Incest, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Pregnancy, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Death, and Classism
samants's review
- 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
Do mind the content warnings -- they are real and graphic.
Graphic: Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Incest, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Sexual harassment
paochavezgt's review
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Incest, Sexual assault, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Violence, and Xenophobia
tombomp's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
I think it's hard to put my thoughts together about this. It's a cavalcade of trauma and abuse and then it just ends so... neatly? Like, not that the scars are resolved obviously. But it feels weird - although even saying that feels wrong, as if I'm suggesting that actually the trauma should have carried on, which is also not what I meant.
I think part of it is that the neat ending owes very little to the actions of the main character in the "present day" - there's connections formed in childhood that only just come back around all at once and we only see bits and pieces of how they happened and Spoilera loose friendship where the other person seemingly took it upon herself to get the MC's abusive violent boyfriend shot in a way that framed him as the shooter? it's a little vague at the end exactly what happened and how much knowledge people had but it's heavily implied imo. That's not bad exactly - everyone needs support and it's good to show stuff happening as a group effort, obviously. It more just adds to the sense that things wrapped up due purely to coincidence than anything else. Which... again I guess that's not that inaccurate to real life. So again I can't exactly mark it down for that.
I think the explicit child sexual abuse scene really threw me for a loop and eclipsed everything else about the book. Not suggesting it's wrong to portray it, just it was so intense (even though I had to skim it) that I couldn't really get settled about how I feel about the book due to feeling so upset and lost reading that.
I will say as an obvious unalloyed good thing: the Trinidadian Creole writing style is really good and I loved reading it. It's an incredibly readable book that's quite compelling
Graphic: Racism, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infertility, Incest, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Pregnancy, Murder, Domestic abuse, and Rape
sarumi's review
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Rape, Pedophilia, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, and Sexual assault
dreamersmind'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: Physical abuse, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Infertility, Death, Alcoholism, Rape, and Pedophilia
joppiereading'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: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Incest, Infidelity, Murder, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Violence, Addiction, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Rape, and Toxic relationship
rebekka_m's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Sexual violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, and Incest
naseerahl'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Sexual violence
giraffeluver02's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Incest, Rape, Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infertility, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Addiction