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mvegag'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
bookishgingerjo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, and Murder
21maximillian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Transphobia, Police brutality, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
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.riverss's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Blood, Abortion, and Murder
slvngrt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Biphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
carojust's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
sdkluce's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, and Murder
annahelle'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
check content warnings!
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Incest, Infidelity, Blood, Excrement, Medical trauma, and Car accident
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