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temymm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Antisemitism, and Religious bigotry
uranaishi'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Torture, Xenophobia, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, and War
vivelarevolution's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Murder, and War
Minor: Rape, Torture, and Alcohol
Chapter 38 ends in what I would characterize as a suicide. Chapter 43 describes a pogrom.lancemama'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: Child death, Cursing, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, and War
ominousspectre's review against another edition
1.5
Themes: heavy handed
I very much wanted to like this. If you showed the blurb to any of my friends, they'd immediately be like oh! This is so on brand for you, almost to a way that's borderline spooky. However, I hated the execution of this.
It's unfortunate because this is a very personal story to her as one side of her family is Jewish Ukrainian. She helps run the Lore podcast. Clearly she's done her research. There are good pieces in here (I loved the line from the villain that said, "I am not a what, I'm a when). But overall, I have a lot of issues with it.
The Longshadow man isn't even really an allegory for bigotry/white supremacy, because he just walks up to people and says alt right talking points at them for a few minutes until they commit a hate crime. I'm not kidding. It's very on the nose. Though the pipeline moves fast, it doesn't work THAT fast, so those scenes felt disingenuous.
What irked me the most was Baba Yaga reimagined as a Jewish Ukrainian in 1919. Nothing inherently wrong with that, I love folklore retellings or generally inspired things. But the connection of Baba Yaga basically stops at the name. She's just a woman who is sort of made fun of in town and given that nickname, and she then
Nothing inherently wrong with that either, but otherwise, there's no tie in to any of the actual themes of Baba Yaga the original myth. I was expecting some sort of reclamation of the name and how she's a social outcast, a villain arc, SOMETHING, but there's nothing there.
I would've even accepted if we didn't know her name from the start, and it was revealed as the story went on as a sort of OH! That's why they inherited the chicken leg house! But as with the rest of the themes, it must be heavy handed.
As a less serious aside: crazy how Isaac is a tit for tat self insert character I would've written in middle school. Not even kidding, younger me feels so called out. It's honestly very funny
Graphic: Hate crime, Racism, and Antisemitism
carlyoc'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
We have three main POV characters in this book: Isaac Yaga, his sister Bellatine, and Thistlefoot, a house that walks on chicken legs. The estranged siblings are brought together by a notice that they have inherited the house of their twice-great grandmother. But the house is pursued by a monster from its past, who we later learn is a very interesting portrayal of a dybbuk from Jewish mythology.
Magic is not the norm in this world, but nor is it mind-blowing. Isaac and Bellatine take their house on tour around the country, running a travelling puppet show like their family did when they were children. Isaac and Bellatine each have special powers, although only Bellatine's is known by the other sibling.
Isaac can mimic other people with inhuman accuracy to the extent that his body really seems to take on their shape. And Bellatine lives in fear of what her hands can do to inanimate objects that have too much life in them.
Although the novel takes place in modern times, there is something old-timey about the book, including Isaac's habit of jumping onto moving trains and speaking in classic rail rider slang. Adding to that feeling, was the narration of the audiobook by the excellent January LaVoy, whose voice will be very familiar to listeners of Libba Bray's The Diviners series.
Moderate: Child death, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Racism and Mass/school shootings
Depicts in some detail a pogrom in Eastern Europe.s_writes'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Racism and Antisemitism
Moderate: Child death, Death, Violence, and War
Minor: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts
cleot'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Genocide, Antisemitism, Fire/Fire injury, and War
Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Xenophobia, and Murder
readwriterobyn'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
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Genocide, Hate crime, Racism, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
therainbowshelf'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
5.0
As an odd coincidence, the same day I started reading this book, a journalist I was working with told me about his family heritage. One side of his family came to the U.S. to escape the pogroms in the early 1900s. It was the first time I’d heard of the pogroms in Russia, and then this book centers them.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Death of baby, death of family member, graphic Reanimation of dead animal