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town_scar's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Abandonment
Minor: Car accident
Graphic, on page depictions of most things but most notably: assault of a minor by a parent, assault of a minor by a sibling, beastiality, physical abuse between parental figure and child, prostitution, murder, drug use, etc. Not for the faint of heart.oversherin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
This book is incredibly violent and dark. You get right into the mind of the characters who are deeply troubled and hateful people who are wrecked by their environment. Chapters are long dark spirals into the depths of these characters and their darkest thoughts imaginable. Despite this, Melchor is very skilled in giving them just enough humanity that I empathized with them and wanted to stick it out to the end. As other reviewers have said, this book is deeply, disturbingly, honest in a way I have never read before. To me, the hardest part of this book is that most of the characters are children who are wrapped up in the worst of the world. The run-on prose took adjustment, but I found it very natural by middle.
Overall, I thought the story was compelling and timeless. I gritted my teeth through the whole book and had to scan some chapters because I just couldn't stomach it. However, I respect this book and the stories it's telling. There is more truth to this book than I'd like to face. It definitely affected me in an artful way.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Pregnancy
gillian_aftanas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.25
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Medical trauma, Outing, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
kaiulanilee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Abortion, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity, Mental illness, Blood, Vomit, and Abandonment
Minor: Pregnancy and Classism
aislinn95's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
2.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
Minor: Fatphobia and Suicide
lain_darko's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Transphobia, Police brutality, Medical trauma, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Fatphobia, Infidelity, and Blood
odetojersey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
bodiesinbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Fatphobia, Hate crime, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Car accident
Minor: Infertility
ronpayne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, and Murder