Scan barcode
faeriefangss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Stalking
Minor: Vomit and Pregnancy
elderwoodreads'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
5.0
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Infidelity, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Outing, Sexual harassment, and Classism
lindsayerin'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
talonsontypewriters'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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and War
annablume'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
4.0
i really liked the story and the writing style so it still gets a (maybe spineless on my part idk) high rating
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
Minor: Eating disorder, Infidelity, Rape, Vomit, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
dlrosebyh'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
3.5
Graphic: Body horror
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity, Racism, and Sexual assault
githgorlfriend'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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Homophobia, Racism, and Stalking
Minor: Sexual assault
kteq'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: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Deadnaming, Racial slurs, and Stalking
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
cheye13's review
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"Eleven sticks bundled together can withstand anythinng. One stick out in the cold all on its own can't even withstand itself."
This was a fun and unique read, but I wanted more out of it. It's pitched as truly absurd, and I set my expectations too high. I wanted the story to push further – push the witchcraft, push teen angst & rage, even push field hockey further. Instead it precisely toes the line between fantasy – "magic is real" – and ambiguity – "is magic real?"; while both options could've worked, this story avoided the choice, building an ominous tone with no ultimate payoff. And while the end didn't pull the typical "married, suburbs, 1.5 kids," it still felt far too much like an epilogue to me.
On the other hand, the teen girls & their diverse personalities and experiences were stellar. The 80s east-coast suburb was nearly tangible, a great foundation for the story. I appreciated the nuanced contextualization of the 80s norms; serious topics like sexism, sexual assault, racism, etc. aren't simply swept away with "it was a different time," but addressed in-story, then further contextualized in relation to today. While it's not one of my favorite reads, I do think it's a good book.
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, and Stalking
iygatac_reads's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If I'd been reading this as a physical book, I would have dnf'd it right within the first chapter. I knew that right away, but since I was listening to this during my walks, it was easy enough to just listen as someone else read it to me. But even with that, I kind of wonder if it would have felt different to read this as a physical book. I appreciated how Barry managed to create several unique characters - all the girls from the team stick in my mind as distinct and interesting characters.
Many descriptions I saw of the book before reading really made me think this was gonna be a different kind of book. But I'd never read anything by Quan Barry before, either.
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Racial slurs, and Sexual assault