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laguerrelewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
onemamareads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction and Death of parent
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and War
bythecover's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, and Pregnancy
morganperks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
booksandtea997's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
thereadingshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
maiagaia's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The final chapter was absolutely stunning. A total gut punch. Tragic and hopeful at the same time: a deadly combination.
I loved Lo as a character. I understood her. I got where she was coming from. Until I didn't. To be more specific, once Lo starts palling around with the cult, I intellectually understood what the author was trying to do, but I don't think the execution was successful. Lo went from being supremely distrustful of every member to trusting them so quickly it gave me whiplash. It started out as the members slowly wearing her down and winning her over and then BLAM she's convinced her sister was a manipulative liar the whole time. The groundwork was there for another 50 or so pages of her struggling with herself and
being manipulated into the position she ended up in, but it moved too quickly and ultimately felt cheap and rushed.
The climax was simply not good. I'm not sure if you can even call it deus ex machina because the character doesn't even remember how they got out of their situation. It is textually written off as god intervening? Which I guess means it literally is deus ex machina...... Which is to say: lame. And this is coming from someone who LOVES a Greek tragedy.
Ultimately, I didn't realize this was YA, and I don't think I would have picked it up if I had. I only mention this because I think many of the issues I had could have been fixed by adding more pages and diving more into the characters' internal worlds, neither of which are fair expectations for a YA book, imo. The adult and YA markets have different expectations, and when expectations don't match reality, it's tough for the book to make up that ground.
The audiobook was good. The narrators were distinct enough for me even when I cranked it up to 2x speed for the last quarter or so.
Overall, I enjoyed this read (mostly) and don't regret picking it up. It was a quick listen that I got through in a single work day, so I can't complain.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Confinement, Infidelity, Torture, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Murder
house_of_hannah's review against another edition
- 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
1.5
A majority of the book is conversations between several people. One of them is constantly preaching, which just ended up being annoying after awhile. The multiple timeline ended up not giving as much insight as I hoped either, so it just never really felt like anything was happening. Lo, the sister trying to find the one who joined the cult, goes to the Unity Project, yells at someone, goes to work, and repeat. That's it, that's the book.
I thought there would be some surprise, or intrigue, but it just ended up being a stereotypical cult story. The climax of the story even happens off screen, and since the MC doesn't even know what happened we never get any answers. Unfortunately for me there weren't any likable characters to make up for the plot either, so this one is a disappointment in the end.
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Murder and Pregnancy
rhguerrero's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Infidelity and Miscarriage
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a very high-intensity thriller. This deals with some really tricky subjects, and does a good job expressing the feelings of loss, grief, and loneliness that are preyed upon by Lev and his cult. Though I can't really say I liked the characters, I did enjoy reading about them, and I was on the metaphorical edge of my seat while racing through this book! I really enjoyed the way this ended, as well. I'm definitely scoping out this author's other books to read.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy