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eyebrightt's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
el akkad also fumbles gender and sexuality in this pretty hard. sarat in parts two and three is described in a pretty lascivious tone of voice, which becomes really disconcerting when you consider how old she is in these sections. that shower scene is a remarkably good lesson on how to be as weird as possible about your 12 y/o protagonist being naked. it's harder to get absorbed in a story like this when your author is noticeably weak at writing teenage girls.
there were some other strange worldbuilding choices as well, to add to this. the usamerican south seems to have achieved postracial harmony by the 2070s, given that nobody gives sarat any grief for being either biracial or visibly black; they take more issue with her height and "masculine"/androgynous build, the latter of which wouldn't be unexpected for a young girl pre-puberty. but i digress. sarat's family being catholic is somehow the most controversial thing about them to the other southerners. for some reason.
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, and War
Moderate: Death of parent
kayteslibrary'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
3.0
Graphic: Death and War
Moderate: Torture
bonfeld's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Colonisation, and War
charlotteg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Rape
wandering_seal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I did struggle with the pacing at the start, but overall this was such an interesting piling on of events. I particularly loved the shifting focus at the end - the conclusion was exactly what I expected and also not at all.
I listened to this on audiobook, and while I thought it was so, so well done I do wish I'd a physical copy of the book so I could flick back between some of the events and documentation as well.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
theemeraldgirl23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: War
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia
baddgerose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Suicide, Torture, Murder, and War
verysarahbennett's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was tough but SO thought-provoking. It's wild that it came out in 2017, before the pandemic, when biological warfare/pandemics are such an interesting part of this story. It was extremely scary in the sense that the book is very believable and possible as a somewhat near future. It's a really powerful dystopian message that touches on global warming and climate change, pandemics, division in the country, war. The way the world has transformed in such a little amount of time from the current day and the way everyone is still just finding a way to live and make do is heartbreaking and universal. A really strong statement about America and its relationship with the world and with itself.
Sarat was a very fascinating main character to follow. It definitely was interesting to see how she thinks and functions, but I still feel like I couldn't completely grasp everything about her as much as I wanted to. I still don't understand her motivations or how she specifically got moved so far in one extremist direction.
It was a really great book club book--love it or hate it (or not even finish it), there's SO much to discuss; you probably wouldn't even need to have prepared questions in advance.
Graphic: Violence and War
underwaterlauren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Xenophobia and Vomit
mauricekofi'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Death of parent, Alcohol, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Biphobia, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Addiction and Religious bigotry