syds_shelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Rape, and Panic attacks/disorders
caughtbetweenpages's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I was a little thrown off by the variety in length for some of the stories (eg. the opening story, Mattie, was about 1/5 of the whole book, whereas others were only a few pages long), because it seemed to grant more weight to some of these women compared to the others, and set me up to expect more of them, but it didn't make it less enjoyable to read overall. It did make it a little hard to pick up on the fact that the collection was moving through time, but again that wasn't a detracting factor to my enjoyment.
Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Racism, Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, and Lesbophobia
adrreads'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
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Domestic abuse, and Child death
renareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Death, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Grief, Child death, Alcoholism, Abortion, and Murder
murakamimami's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault
Moderate: Addiction, Domestic abuse, and Homophobia
tina94's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Murder, Homophobia, and Child death
Moderate: Child abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, and Alcohol
rlgreen91's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.25
I'll hide this to avoid spoilers,
Spoiler
but one thing I was surprised about was my reaction to the residents' week after Lorraine's attack and Ben's death. Initially, I thought "Yeah, you should feel bad because you started all of this," and that isn't surprising. But almost immediately afterwards I felt this sense of disdain, which was what surprised me. It almost felt immoral that the rest of the book (which granted, wasn't much) focused on their feelings. Like why should we focus on your guilt and unease when your deliberate shunning and homophobia started all of this in the first place? Why is this about you? Even in Mattie's dream, they were still excluding Theresa - there's no mention of anyone even trying to reach out to here.Overall, this was a wonderfully written piece, and I'm looking forward to reading Linden Hills next.
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Death, Grief, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Child death, and Classism
Minor: Domestic abuse and Abortion
soliteyah's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse