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sarah984's review against another edition
dark
emotional
informative
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I wound up liking this book a lot more by the end than I had expected at the beginning.
The history of the war and what comes after it feels well-researched and alive, but the story of Nina growing up in Siberia is stereotypical and ridiculous. Way too much.
Most of the characters were great, interesting and internally coherent - they felt like they could be real people. Jordan's parts of the story dragged for me though since they followed the same cycle for so long: Jordan sees something suspicious, freaks out about it, then convinces herself it's nothing for more than half the book. It's realistic but it could definitely have been toned down without losing anything important.
The history of the war and what comes after it feels well-researched and alive, but the story of Nina growing up in Siberia is stereotypical and ridiculous. Way too much.
Most of the characters were great, interesting and internally coherent - they felt like they could be real people. Jordan's parts of the story dragged for me though since they followed the same cycle for so long: Jordan sees something suspicious, freaks out about it, then convinces herself it's nothing for more than half the book. It's realistic but it could definitely have been toned down without losing anything important.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Antisemitism, and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs and Racism