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stormeno'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
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty
kirstenf's review
- 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
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Transphobia and Vomit
quinnyquinnquinn's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Mental illness, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Religious bigotry
jgberokoff's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The bad: pacing was off at times; not a whole lot of fluff, majority of the book the relationships were angsty, I would’ve loved to see more happy sweet moments between characters
This book is not racially diverse despite being marketed as a general diverse book which is important to note.
As someone who is asexual, I wish there was more discussion about Asta’s asexuality. I get that it takes place in 1904 but she never seems to accept that she is asexual or aromantic? She says throughout that she is hopeless or not romantic. There also isn’t a place that really confirms they’re in a queer platonic relationship which was a major selling point for me.
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
stelepami's review against another edition
Gay, ace, and disabled representation!
Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Animal death, and Death of parent
ladygetslit's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Religious bigotry
16_butterflies's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia and Alcohol
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, and Car accident
cobwebshelves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
"Maybe this is the nature of adulthood," Fuglestad considered. "Coffee and headaches. Parts that stop working." Norway is very near and dear to me. I used to learn the language. It's still one of my dream countries to visit. So a historical fiction, set in Norway, with LGBTQ+ characters? That should've been perfect for me. So it broke my heart that I couldn't love it. It's 1904, and the Fuglestad family is struck by tragedy. Two brothers, Gunnar and Fred, are severely injured in an accident. Their mother, Sigrid, dies. Gunnar's best friend Asta and boyfriend Erlend all come together to escape societal expectations and religious influences, to build a little family of their own and save Gunnar's home by finding a way to win the biggest event of the year - the Christmas horse race. This book had some lovely moments of prose. It had sparks. The queer representation was lovely. The disabilities the characters live with don't magically disappear at the end. All these details I'm very appreciative of. But for me, the pacing was the biggest problem. The first fifty pages are so fast you get a whiplash from everything that's happening. Then by the middle, it slows to a halt. And once you get to the final page, the epilogue feels like an afterthought. I wish Gunnar had been a POV character. The back and forth between Asta and Erlend's POVs started to feel samey, especially when it stopped being Asta-Erlend and it was two or three chapters of just Asta-Asta-Asta in a row. The side characters felt underdeveloped. I felt nothing for Mauritz or Oskar, or any of the names listed in the last paragraph. They were there to move the plot along, and I saw no true bond between them and the main trio. The religious conflict got very uncomfortable at times, especially with the rampant homophobia that the townspeople shared. Another reviewer I saw called it a trauma lasagna. And it really did feel like it. Tragedy after tragedy, in a very short amount of time, to the point where it got exhausting. I honestly feel that knowing from the getgo the kind of ending it'll have ruined it for me as well. At one point, during the race, one particular event that should've had emotional impact, only had me rolling my eyes.