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thereadingoutlaw's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-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? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Never met an Anna-Marie McLemore book I didn't love! A little sad there were no queer characters in this one, but lots of their more recent books have queer characters galore!
This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling so of course it has some tragedy in it. I really loved this and everything AM did with this story. I am VERY familiar with R&J because I've been teaching it for the last 5 years. I love the takes on it in this and the differences with how things were resolved. Also love love love the characters so much!
This is a Romeo and Juliet retelling so of course it has some tragedy in it. I really loved this and everything AM did with this story. I am VERY familiar with R&J because I've been teaching it for the last 5 years. I love the takes on it in this and the differences with how things were resolved. Also love love love the characters so much!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, and Eating disorder
Minor: Rape and Sexual assault
gailsage_thomps's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism and Body shaming
durrareadsstuff's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
slow-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? Yes
4.0
Stories—the ones we speak, the ones we read, the ones we write down-make us human to each other. Fiction, however made-up, makes us real to each other. Stories take us past slurs and stereotypes, and into the deep ocean of understanding that every person, real or imagined, cannot be reduced to a word or a few words.
I've been staring into the abyss for hours now. This was just so beautifully written and the story itself was so tragic. This book reminded my why I loved reading so much, of how much fiction can teach you and make you understand things.
I went into this thinking it's gonna be some retelling of romeo and juliet with a hint of magic in it, nothing too heavy. And it is, the love story of lace and cluck and their families do resemble the Shakespeare classic, but also it deals heavily with racism, family problems and prejudice and understanding. I'll be honest though, I took some time to wrap my head around the plot, I feel like the words twist you around and around but all that is somewhat necessary to achieve the depth of the actual story and the beauty of it. Granted, I am not much of a fan of books with romance as their main plotline, so maybe that's why I got lost a little bit.
Also another thing worth noting : the chapters are so short!! And the sayings in french and spanish at every chapter are so cool. I think this is a much needed fiction—to understand how racism came to be, how some people grew up with it and can't help but see others in a different light, how they were taught to see others to "protect themselves". And how by breaking that barrier between them, just by talking and listening to each other, Lace and Cluck escaped the cages their families made for them.
I went into this thinking it's gonna be some retelling of romeo and juliet with a hint of magic in it, nothing too heavy. And it is, the love story of lace and cluck and their families do resemble the Shakespeare classic, but also it deals heavily with racism, family problems and prejudice and understanding. I'll be honest though, I took some time to wrap my head around the plot, I feel like the words twist you around and around but all that is somewhat necessary to achieve the depth of the actual story and the beauty of it. Granted, I am not much of a fan of books with romance as their main plotline, so maybe that's why I got lost a little bit.
Also another thing worth noting : the chapters are so short!! And the sayings in french and spanish at every chapter are so cool. I think this is a much needed fiction—to understand how racism came to be, how some people grew up with it and can't help but see others in a different light, how they were taught to see others to "protect themselves". And how by breaking that barrier between them, just by talking and listening to each other, Lace and Cluck escaped the cages their families made for them.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Minor: Animal death and Sexual assault