bigdreamsandwildthings's review
3.0
“I am not afraid. I am not ashamed. I am not the girl I once was. I am a saint. I am a witch.
I am Rage.”
This was not at all what I wanted it to be. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it fell quite flat sadly. And I was so excited for more sapphic witches by Claire Legrand. :(
This story follows a girl who takes on the name of Amity when she becomes a saint in her small town of Haven. Amity has known all her life that she was destined for sainthood; she must right the wrongs of her unfaithful mother, and she knows women caused the ruin of the World That Once Was. She gladly takes the punishment from her elders now. But there are larger forces at work in Amity's world, and sometimes, magic finds you, instead of the other way around. She will have to face what she knows head on in order to see the flaws in the world she's been taught about - and accept her own power at the same time.
Sawkill Girls is one of my fave YA horror novels ever. There was something so visceral about it, so gross but also so heartfelt and I looooved the relationships in its pages. I wanted more of that here, but what I found...was not that.
This book follows Amity/Rage as she discovers the truth about her town and everything she's been taught. It's set in a dystopian future, and Amity has been taught that she and her people were chosen, that there are no other humans on the planet. Reading those first chapters when she is so brainwashed and devout were SO TOUGH. I didn't care about her, I hated the world, and I was about *this* close to DNF'ing.
Once the witches come into play, things did get a bit more interesting. The magic system, extasia, isn't really explored, but it's cool. I was left with many questions about where extasia comes from, where the language it responds to comes from, what it can actually do, what the existence of the secret land of Avazel means for the world at large, and basically none of these questions are answered.
Instead, we're left with this very classic dystopian-feeling ending that leaves more questions than answers. Clearly, this is a world with magic, but what and where and how and when are left hanging. I suppose we are meant to care about Rage and Hunger and Sorrow more than anything, but I found their characters frustrating and unfulfilling.
The horror bits here were appropriately horrific, though, I will give it that. I shuddered multiple times and I do love when a horror book doesn't pull any punches.
There are some good messages in here about embracing all parts of who you are, about not forcing yourself to be one thing, about refusing to take things at face value as they're told to you. But sadly, this book felt drab, unnecessarily dark, and uninteresting for the majority of its pages.
I am Rage.”
This was not at all what I wanted it to be. It wasn’t the worst book I’ve read, but it fell quite flat sadly. And I was so excited for more sapphic witches by Claire Legrand. :(
This story follows a girl who takes on the name of Amity when she becomes a saint in her small town of Haven. Amity has known all her life that she was destined for sainthood; she must right the wrongs of her unfaithful mother, and she knows women caused the ruin of the World That Once Was. She gladly takes the punishment from her elders now. But there are larger forces at work in Amity's world, and sometimes, magic finds you, instead of the other way around. She will have to face what she knows head on in order to see the flaws in the world she's been taught about - and accept her own power at the same time.
Sawkill Girls is one of my fave YA horror novels ever. There was something so visceral about it, so gross but also so heartfelt and I looooved the relationships in its pages. I wanted more of that here, but what I found...was not that.
This book follows Amity/Rage as she discovers the truth about her town and everything she's been taught. It's set in a dystopian future, and Amity has been taught that she and her people were chosen, that there are no other humans on the planet. Reading those first chapters when she is so brainwashed and devout were SO TOUGH. I didn't care about her, I hated the world, and I was about *this* close to DNF'ing.
Once the witches come into play, things did get a bit more interesting. The magic system, extasia, isn't really explored, but it's cool. I was left with many questions about where extasia comes from, where the language it responds to comes from, what it can actually do, what the existence of the secret land of Avazel means for the world at large, and basically none of these questions are answered.
Instead, we're left with this very classic dystopian-feeling ending that leaves more questions than answers. Clearly, this is a world with magic, but what and where and how and when are left hanging. I suppose we are meant to care about Rage and Hunger and Sorrow more than anything, but I found their characters frustrating and unfulfilling.
The horror bits here were appropriately horrific, though, I will give it that. I shuddered multiple times and I do love when a horror book doesn't pull any punches.
There are some good messages in here about embracing all parts of who you are, about not forcing yourself to be one thing, about refusing to take things at face value as they're told to you. But sadly, this book felt drab, unnecessarily dark, and uninteresting for the majority of its pages.
frog_appreciator's review against another edition
4.25
Really enjoyed the brutal overthrowing of a cult thing but the plot twist at the end was a bit of a groaner. Held my attention though, I raced through it and thoroughly enjoyed reading it. Reminds me of Hell Followed With Us which I LOVE.
ljhind's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
cressilux's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- 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
3.5
zero_sjl's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Murder, Violence, and Physical abuse
Minor: Homophobia
linnybear's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- 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
2.5
It wouldn't have been a bad book, even despite the poor execution (that I could talk about for hours, it's that huge of an issue here), if only the twist in part IV hadn't destroyed everything else the author managed to achieve
bookishbel's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
askamarudzi's review
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
shakesabit's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
o13n4_'s review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0