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rorikae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Carolyn is a Librarian at the Library. She and each of her siblings have their own catalogue, or area of interest, that they study as their Father prepares them for their role in life. To move further forward on their paths, they have to head out and interact with Americans to tackle the challenges coming their way. Steve, who is trying to lead a normal life, is pulled into Carolyn (and the Library's) schemes and it will change the course of his life.
This is such a hard book to describe. It's weird and incredibly unique. There are a number of horrific elements, especially surrounding how different characters treat one another. It's fantasy but it is also very squarely set in a version of the United States that resembles our own. I do think it is best to go into this novel knowing next to nothing as the story unfolds. Everything wrapped up really well at the end, which helped to boost how I felt about it because during the reading process it seemed to drag at points. For a section of the story, I really didn't care about Steve or understand why we were spending so much time with him. This is revealed later and made sense but it didn't stop the middle section of the novel from dragging out what felt like could have been a much quicker process. And yet, I do think it all works together. I think this is a great book for a book club because there is a lot to discuss. If Scott Hawkins writes another book in the future, I will definitely be interested in picking it up.
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
scifi_rat's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War
Minor: Homophobia, Car accident, Outing, and Pandemic/Epidemic
alyssathinkstoomuch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
megra's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Slavery, Suicide, and Vomit
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual violence, Excrement, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and War
katclaybaugh'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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Child death
loafhart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
There is a lottt of violence.. All formsmaecave15's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Alcohol
jess2obsess's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Excrement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and War
vic_to_ria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book took me a while to get into. Up until like 30% it was rough for me- I kept putting it down and walking away from it but after 45% definitely the plot picks up really quickly. It is a very darkly themed novel so people be warned- check the content warnings plz- but it still had light hearted moments that made you feel for the characters and why they became the way that the are.
(Can I just say that Micheal is my fav and he deserves the world.)
The plot twist was something that we thought of more and more as we continue reading so it wasn’t a major shock but how we get there was the true mystery like damn it was fun to see it all unfold.
Overall I really enjoyed it but I know it’s not everyone’s cup of tea.
Graphic: Death, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
kat_smith24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness and Death of parent
Minor: Kidnapping and Alcohol
Not for the squeamish or easily disturbed.