ktame001's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Police brutality, Violence, Grief, War, Torture, Death, Genocide, and Child abuse
Moderate: Cancer, Physical abuse, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, and Gun violence
greylandreviews's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
A really informative and interesting book. I really like when Sepetys only writes from one point of view. When she does multiple, it just becomes jumbly and pacing is kind of thrown off. The narrator for this one was good also.
I never knew this about Romania and I'm really glad I learned about it. Giving a voice to a silent past is what Sepetys is a master at.
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Animal cruelty, Blood, Alcohol, Death, Excrement, Body horror, Violence, Medical trauma, Genocide, Gore, War, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Vomit, Xenophobia, Misogyny, Cancer, and Sexual assault
addyruth17's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Police brutality, and Blood
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Minor: Confinement, Excrement, and Sexual harassment
quiettalker's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Excrement, Torture, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Violence, and Gun violence
readingwithkaitlyn's review
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Sexism, Death, Torture, Murder, War, Gun violence, Animal cruelty, Violence, Police brutality, Misogyny, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, and Gore
Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Cancer, Terminal illness, and Excrement
Minor: Death of parent, Child death, Classism, and Alcohol
ana_maria5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Graphic: Medical trauma, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Excrement, Violence, Police brutality, Cancer, and Injury/Injury detail
violet_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, War, Violence, Child abuse, Confinement, and Gore
Moderate: Excrement, Torture, Grief, and Blood
quirkyaquarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
Cici was done so dirty though. Cristian is incredibly hypocritical and yet he never has to answer for it? It’s very clear she paid the price with her body and yet only a sentence is dedicated to acknowledging that trauma?Graphic: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Police brutality
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Cancer
Minor: Excrement
lyzz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This book is set on the cusp of the Romanian Revolution in 1989. Starting this book, I knew next to nothing about Romania aside from them having great gymnasts. The book focuses on a teenager named Cristian who is recruited to be part of the spy network run by the Romanian government.
This is a fantastic book. It was informative, fast-paced and thoughtful. I learned so much about the country of Romania in this book. It makes me want to learn more about their history and their culture. This was a different type of historical fiction for me - historical thriller. I *loved* the pacing of this book. There are short chapters and the book clips along. Sometimes books that focus on pacing are short on character development - but I thought the author did a thoughtful amount of development of the main character and his family members.
Overall, I would highly recommend this book. This would be a perfect book for someone trying out historical fiction or a seasoned reader.
Graphic: Excrement, Physical abuse, Blood, Violence, Confinement, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Gun violence, and War
Minor: Sexual violence and Sexual assault
Spoiler
This focuses on state sponsored blackmail by recruiting a teenager to report on his family and friends. This leads to a state of paranoia throughout the book. There is state sponsored violence by depriving the citizen's of food, heat and medical care. Cristian's grandfather is tortured to death and found in their apartment. Towards the end of the book, there is a revolution and there is graphic scenes of death, torture, murder, police brutality. There are also references to Cristian's sister being involved in state sponsored prostitution/sexual assault.nairam1173'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Blood
Moderate: Death, Excrement, War, and Grief