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thesuperawesomesarah's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Chronic illness, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder and War
eeeeeeee's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Fascinating book, felt made for me (psychogenic illness, Fruitlands allegory). The end didn't quite wrap up in a satisfying way - it wasn't clear to me exactly what caused the ending - but overall a creative and interesting book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual assault
abbiwesner's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- 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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault
Minor: Suicide
kaylo88's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
This book might have had mixed reviews, but personally, I found it a great read. The plot was clever, it was extremely well written and the characters were mostly well-rounded, though I did find myself wishing that some of the female characters had been given more in-depth backstories.
The story centers around a man who, along with his daughter and a male acquaintance, establishes a radical new school for girls. The idea behind the school is to teach girls the same way as boys. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly, but soon the girls begin to fall ill, and strange things begin to happen at the same time as red birds start nesting at the school.
I must admit that I found the male characters to be utterly despicable. Samuel, the father and mastermind behind the school, starts off with good intentions, but as soon as things start to go wrong, he abandons the idea of women being just as capable as men. It's disheartening to see how quickly he reverts to old-fashioned ideas about women's capabilities. And it probably makes him even worse than his contemporaries since he is such a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, the book is a sobering reminder that the medical community has a long history of downplaying women's symptoms and dismissing their concerns. While the book is a work of fiction, it's clear that the themes it explores are still relevant today.
My only gripe with the book is that I found the ending to be somewhat unsatisfying. While I can't put my finger on exactly what I was hoping for, I felt like there were too many loose ends left untied. It left me wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way.
The story centers around a man who, along with his daughter and a male acquaintance, establishes a radical new school for girls. The idea behind the school is to teach girls the same way as boys. At first, everything seems to be going smoothly, but soon the girls begin to fall ill, and strange things begin to happen at the same time as red birds start nesting at the school.
I must admit that I found the male characters to be utterly despicable. Samuel, the father and mastermind behind the school, starts off with good intentions, but as soon as things start to go wrong, he abandons the idea of women being just as capable as men. It's disheartening to see how quickly he reverts to old-fashioned ideas about women's capabilities. And it probably makes him even worse than his contemporaries since he is such a hypocrite.
Unfortunately, the book is a sobering reminder that the medical community has a long history of downplaying women's symptoms and dismissing their concerns. While the book is a work of fiction, it's clear that the themes it explores are still relevant today.
My only gripe with the book is that I found the ending to be somewhat unsatisfying. While I can't put my finger on exactly what I was hoping for, I felt like there were too many loose ends left untied. It left me wanting more, but not necessarily in a good way.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Misogyny and Sexual assault
mandi_lea's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
rachaelwho's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
The ending was like a Midwestern goodbye, I kept thinking it was over and then another hour passed... Major pacing weirdness and just... Didn't stick any landings. Too much and not enough going on. Not for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting
aduqu's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book was okay. It was slow paced, and boring at times. But it did have interesting things to say. All in all, a mediocre read with a few insightful moments.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Moderate: Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, and Death of parent
Minor: Suicide and War
m_lof's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny and Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Suicide
_inge_'s review against another edition
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.25
Content Warnings
Minor: Sexual assault
leitmotiffs's review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
2.25
I'm hiding the review under spoilers, but please check out the content warnings! If those are triggering to you, definitely do NOT read this book. No other review I've found on this site discusses their presence in the novel.
Good concept. Could've been carried out without sexually abusing 9 out of the 10 female characters found in the book in the span of 2 chapters. What really pissess me of is that the abuse happens in the last third of the book (my e-reader said I was about 76% done with it at that point), is described in pretty graphic ways, and you get no foreshadowing or subtle warning before you get there. The author could have depicted misogyny in the era at the time by discussing the social limitations the students, Catherine and Sophia suffer and face in their lives, as well as how even the greatest men with the noblest intentions keep dismissing their ideas and asking them to shut up when they speak their minds. It would have been just as effective and much less traumatic.
And, before you think I'm a prude, I literally wrote my graduate thesis on Nabokov's Lolita and how the story has been adapted to the big screen. I've read about the topic, and I have no issue with it if the book makes it explicit that it's going to deal with it, and if it serves a purpose that could not be accomplished any other way. Lolita is a story where the very synopsis warns you that it's about sexual abuse, and gives you the choice to opt out of such a story. This book does not. This book uses sexual assault as a plot device, not as a plot. Fuck this book.
Good concept. Could've been carried out without sexually abusing 9 out of the 10 female characters found in the book in the span of 2 chapters. What really pissess me of is that the abuse happens in the last third of the book (my e-reader said I was about 76% done with it at that point), is described in pretty graphic ways, and you get no foreshadowing or subtle warning before you get there. The author could have depicted misogyny in the era at the time by discussing the social limitations the students, Catherine and Sophia suffer and face in their lives, as well as how even the greatest men with the noblest intentions keep dismissing their ideas and asking them to shut up when they speak their minds. It would have been just as effective and much less traumatic.
And, before you think I'm a prude, I literally wrote my graduate thesis on Nabokov's Lolita and how the story has been adapted to the big screen. I've read about the topic, and I have no issue with it if the book makes it explicit that it's going to deal with it, and if it serves a purpose that could not be accomplished any other way. Lolita is a story where the very synopsis warns you that it's about sexual abuse, and gives you the choice to opt out of such a story. This book does not. This book uses sexual assault as a plot device, not as a plot. Fuck this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence