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arayo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Excrement, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Murder, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infertility, Mental illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
tiffyb'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
4.75
- It was hard at times to keep up with characters, to the point that I did often have to return to the start of the chapter once I figured out/remembered who someone was. I also struggled at times to place where in history the characters were (for example thinking we were in the early 1900’s but we were in the 70’s. But somehow those things didn’t bother me too much, and part of my struggle to remember characters was that I became so engrossed in the last character’s story that it was hard to switch to a new one at times.
- It was hard at times to step into the other family’s story again after becoming to engrossed in one story honestly.
- I do wish we’d had a way for the original two sisters to have met each other or even interacted. Especially since this was the whole premise of the book.
- The amount of tragedy contained in the story of these two families is staggering… obviously meant to encapsulate the experience of an entire race of people rather than suggest that all of these things could possibly have befallen one single family. So I do think this was a bit of a stretch. Still, it felt believable somehow, placed within the context of “cursed families”.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
rieviolet'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
3.75
Still, I think that this kind of narrative structure (chapters with an ever-changing point of view) is just not my personal preference. Inevitably (as it happens, for example, with short stories collections), there were certain characters' storylines that I appreciated more compared to others. In general, I found the final chapters (those closer to us in time) less engaging.
There were also sections that I liked but that ended a bit too abruptly, leaving too much left unsaid about crucial events and the characters' fate (and not all of the storylines got mentioned again and expanded upon, further on in the narration).
At times, the book got a bit too graphic for my (I admit a bit delicate) sensibilities, but it does deal with very heavy topics; just be sure to check the content warnings.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Excrement, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Suicide, Vomit, Cannibalism, and Murder
cardlikecredit'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Slavery, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Classism
alexiconic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, War, Classism, and Deportation
seullywillikers's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
catwhisperer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
alt05'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, and War
scifi_rat'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
Prose: 4.5★
Pace: 5 ★
Concept/Execution: 5★/5★
Characters: 4.75★
Worldbuilding: 4.75★
Ending: 4.75★
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Racism, Slavery, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, War, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mx_sunshine'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Suicide and Car accident