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anniereads221's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
5.0
The three points of view as follows is:
August centred POV in the third person
Grandfathers dictionary
And a letter is being written by a reverend of the ex-missionary
When it throws you into the story of August going back to her family home in massacre Plains to go to her grandfather's funeral. She hasn't been home since she was sent to Britain and stayed. She wants to find her grandfather's dictionary that he was seen writing before his death. But with that, she also has the memory of her sister in her mind as her sister went missing when she was a child.
The more we learned, the more I was intrigued and was enjoying the journey of this book.
I feel like this book won't be for everyone, as the POVs prove. But I am so glad I decided to reread it and understand how it all fitted together properly in the end.
I am glad I started with this book for 2024 after my rereads of the Monk and Robot series
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Genocide, Pedophilia, Racism, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Eating disorder
rainbowpizzastars's review against another edition
4.5
Ending felt rushed and a bit incongruent with the pace and nature of the storytelling in the rest of the book.
Also if you don’t like books that skip between different narrators or POVs, you will probably struggle with this book.
There were some confusing parts where the POV briefly shifted off the main characters via whom the story is told.
Overall, I read this in one day - it was compelling.
Edit: I think the digital version has some typos?
Graphic: Grief and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse and Pedophilia
Minor: Eating disorder
cantfindmybookmark'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Pedophilia and Murder
holly_133's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, and Colonisation
bannedfrombookclub's review against another edition
4.0
Something in the ending felt a little underworked to me, like I didn't feel all the seeds of its main players/events were planted earlier on.
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
Moderate: Eating disorder and Pedophilia
lettuce_read's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Death, Racism, Police brutality, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, and Pedophilia
babblingbooks's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, and Eating disorder
spinesinaline's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s a book about grief in more ways than one: more recent and past losses of family members, the horrific treatment of their ancestors and through that treatment, the loss of lives, culture, language, and land. Winch does not shy away from details so there are some very brutal descriptions in here, so do take note of the content warnings. I wasn’t surprised to learn this history but horrified all the same.
As someone who works in the archives and museum field, I also really appreciated seeing these institutions called out in terms of how they handle Indigenous objects and requests for repatriation to this day. Getting to experience the unfeeling policies from those whose objects are held, without consent in many cases, by museums and archives is a welcome perspective that more professionals should be exposed to in reconsidering these policies.
Graphic: Death, Racism, Rape, Murder, and Colonisation
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, and Pedophilia
rhi_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Racism and Colonisation
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
carlytenille's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, and Colonisation