lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Abandonment, Racism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Violence, Xenophobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
Moderate: Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Ableism, Alcohol, Sexual violence, Torture, Incest, Alcoholism, Gaslighting, Islamophobia, Addiction, Body shaming, Colonisation, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Vomit, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Antisemitism, Miscarriage, Animal death, Pandemic/Epidemic, Cancer, Confinement, Dementia, and Forced institutionalization
Incest warning is just in case, for an affair between in-laws.emily_galloway's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This story is so smart. Incredible.
I cried a few times throughout and would recommend reading trigger warnings however. It's pretty intense in parts.
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Addiction, Bullying, Colonisation, Grief, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Classism, Death, Drug use, and Infertility
eib_21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Rape, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Death
onelittleorange'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Infidelity, and Death of parent
Minor: Transphobia and Drug abuse
dlsmk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Child death, Classism, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, Abandonment, Hate crime, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Colonisation, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Racism, Transphobia, Infertility, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
paigereitz'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
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Child abuse, Colonisation, Cursing, Transphobia, Dysphoria, Xenophobia, Classism, Alcohol, and Drug abuse
Minor: Pregnancy, Infertility, Miscarriage, and Deadnaming
catherineallsop'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
Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Cursing, and Misogyny
Minor: Violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Transphobia, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Addiction, and Drug abuse
camoo3032's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
There are a lot of characters so the book can feel like a bit of whirlwind, particularly in the first chapter, and some of the topics covered could've been discussed in more depth. Regardless, I still found this book very eye opening
Graphic: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Racism
Moderate: Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Homophobia, Classism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Transphobia, Vomit, Child death, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Cancer, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Slavery, Suicide, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
moviemagus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Colonisation, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Racial slurs, Racism, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery
hannahbailey'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? Yes
4.5
Generally I prefer not to read character-vignette novels written in third-person. But this novel just goes to show that when done well, I can really enjoy them! I loved the distinct voice of each character and how they would be name-dropped in one chapter only to be the main character of the next one. It built such an interesting and creative narrative without leaving me feeling I didn't know enough about them–which is usually the case for me with character-vignettes.
Surprised to see some reviews stating the character dialogue and mix of poetry/prose was hard to believe and unrealistic. I completely disagree! The inner dialogue of the female characters was relatable and familiar. I enjoyed the exploration of womanhood and motherhood and how this intersects with race in Britain. It was an interesting and sobering read.
It was almost 5 stars, but there was a part where the character overcomes drug addiction by sheer willpower–they literally stay at home for a week without any form of support and somehow recovers? This didn't feel realistic to me especially given the vulnerability and young age of the character. That said, this was one of the chapters that really stood out to me in its exploration of body/gender dysphoria and trans joy.
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Classism, Colonisation, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Domestic abuse, Lesbophobia, Racism, Alcohol, Abortion, Addiction, Cursing, Deadnaming, Drug use, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Slavery, Transphobia, and Xenophobia