stevia333k's review
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.25
This book gave me Katniss Everdeen vibes, and that was definitely a thing I would think about as I read this book. I liked the setting a lot, communing with the other life forms etc. Like doing prayers at parks instead of schools is more my vibe so.
I was told this book was very feminist & that was helpful. I thought the book might've been poly but it wasn't. Like one of the boyfriends ended up being a self-centered rapist.
Anyways, I actually thought she was black until I thought about the school scene & was like wait a minute the schools were segregated back then. The discussion of desegregation if business towards the end was awkward because that's not desegregation of homes, but whatever.
Anyway, she's white. The title for this book in Spanish calls her "savaje", a savage. Thankfully there's no cultural appropriation of native/indigenous Americans, but still keep an eye on that in discussions about this book because that would end up putting a bunch of racist stereotypes on people. But that would be more the fault of the readers I think.
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Cancer, Sexual violence, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Murder
jfield351's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
For me, it did not live up to the hype because I was able to guess the ending quite early on.
Spoiler
The lack of her memories about that night was very suspicious. It was also suspicious that no one else was accused. The only time I thought that maybe it wasn’t her was when the sheriff took tate away. but that was just because his father had diedGraphic: Abandonment and Child abuse
Moderate: Colonisation, Confinement, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Racial slurs, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Bullying, Classism, Death, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and War
saurahsaurus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Spoiler
approval of the main character getting away with murderSpoiler
parted like the Red Sea when Kya came to their segregated neighborhood for Jumpin’s funeral.I think that this type of racism (White Savior and ever-so-grateful Black people who cannot be the architects of their own salvation) is inherently harmful, but bearing the author’s personal history in mind, it takes on a new level of sinisterness. It reeks of White guilt and fragility, and bears entirely too much resemblance to the author’s life to be coincidence.
I previously gave this book a 2.75, but it truly deserves a zero for the author’s real life sins.
Original review: The author has such a distinct style of writing, and her prose can be strikingly beautiful—intermittently simple and abstruse. However, I have two main issues with this book. Chiefly, I felt like certain aspects of this book weren’t consistent in conveying the social mores of the time, or their severity. I understand that racial inequality is difficult to convey and a sensitive topic, but I always have to wonder why an author chooses a time period in which this is a salient issue, only to not effectively capture its essence. It very much felt like a White person trying to portray the experience of Black Americans at the time. For instance, despite being a small and deeply segregated town,
Spoiler
the judge decided on the spot that a trial that occurred in his court would be integrated, and that anyone who disagreed would not be welcome. It just didn’t seem realistic.Spoiler
when Jumpin’, a Black supporting character and a close friend of Kya’s, was being threatened by some White boys, Kya just happened to be in the right place at the right time. She defended Jumpin’ by incapacitating the two boys.Spoiler
when one of the Black characters dies in the book, the whole town comes out to attend his funeral and every Black person that attended stepped aside for Kya…despite none of them knowing her.Spoiler
at one point, Kya even compares her situation to situations that have befallen Black women and says it’s the exact same. Seriously? Even as an outcast, Kya was a WHITE WOMAN. I don’t think I need to explain why Kya’s life experiences would have been drastically different from a Black woman in the same position. Kya may have been discouraged from visiting certain places, but she had a legal right to do so. Black people at the time were legally barred from many establishments. Furthermore and most importantly, (massive spoiler ahead) if a Black person had been accused of murdering a White man in 1970, in a small and segregated town, I cannot see how they would’ve possibly been acquitted or had any semblance of a fair trial. How is that the same? Ugh.My second main issue was the ending. Massive spoiler ahead.
Spoiler
I don’t even know what to say, really. I mean, sure I get why Kya would do what she did, but then I feel like it completely nullifies all of the lessons the book is supposed to be teaching and preaching about. Kya was ostracized, which was horribly wrong, but then the towns people were actually right about her committing murder? And I felt like the book implied that they were wrong for being prejudiced and jumping to conclusions. Sure, their reasoning was prejudiced but they ended up being right. If you’re gonna have Kya, this person who’s supposed to be innocent and wild and free and a bit weird but harmless, be the killer…then lean into that. There was not really a whole lot of duality to her (eg a dark side) that would have made that plot twist make sense. So why do it, if not for shock value? It just felt really inconsistent with her character. I would have actually rooted for Kya to get away with murder (in fiction only!) if that dark side had been established earlier on and not just out of nowhere.Spoiler
Anyway, I enjoyed parts of this book but I don’t see myself re-reading it. There are so many books out there, and I’m almost frustrated that I spent time reading this one.
Graphic: Classism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Murder, Racism, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Gore, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Violence, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Stalking
Minor: Infertility, Suicidal thoughts, and Slavery
A note on the sexual violence and harassment tags, which contains a significant spoiler but is not detailed:Spoiler
the violence was attempted, but not successful.Spoiler
In the scene, someone who the main character knows very well sneaks up on her, and attempts to rape her. He manages to partially remove her clothing and is about to commit sexual assault, but the main character is able to fight him off and flee. In the process, both individuals inflict injuries on each other.Spoiler
I’m not entirely sure that the technical term would be stalking, but the main character is forced to hide from another character (whom she knows very well) because it is likely that he intends to grievously harm her. He attempts to find her, but does not track her. This could be due to the fact that the main character is especially evasive, and therefore he was unable to stalk her.ajourneythroughpages'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
4.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Death, Racism, Rape, and Child abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, Injury/injury detail, Classism, and Grief
bookishgoob'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Injury/injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Vomit, and Violence
oliviafaye's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Infertility, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence