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tinkeringcheck's review
3.25
I also feel bad saying this, but I'm not a big fan of books that feel like they were written mainly to Educate the Reader instead of tell a story. I might have bounced off because I know too much about the abortion rights movement in Canada already, but I'm glad this book is making that history more accessible.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Panic attacks/disorders
modryzamek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Suicide, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
asimonso's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Suicide attempt
heathere19'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
Graphic: Abortion
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Sexual violence
sometimesalyreadsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
That being said, it IS a great historical fiction! About other years. A teenager in the 70s who finds herself pregnant and forced to give her baby up for adoption, the trauma that she and the other women face, the eventual decision to become a doctor and join an underground abortion network, so that women can have a choice.
Another woman, modern day, desperate for a child of her own - discovers a letter. She decides, like many others, to go looking for Jane.
The plot twist in this book threw me for an absolute loop, I will give it that. I was flabbergasted. Taken back. Shocked.
The plot starts slow, and at time and dialogue at times, was a little too "scripted infomercial" on women's oppression and the fight for reproductive rights, but the plot was beautiful. I cried many times reading this book club pick and I highly recommend it.
Buckle up for the last 20% because the author does rush to tie everything together, but I felt it was well-done and really, all about women and our multitudes. 4.5 stars!
Graphic: Suicide and Abortion
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
athenabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicide, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Medical content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Rape, Self harm, and Blood
poisonenvy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
It tells the story of three women whose stories start at different points in history, though all their stories do intersect at certain points: There's Evelyn, a young woman in the sixties who was forced to go to a home for Wayward Girls: aka, women who became pregnant outside of marriage and were forced to give up their babies. There's Nancy, a young woman in the 1980s who becomes pregnant and needs to seek out an illegal abortion, thereby stumbling on the Jane Network: an underground network that provided safe abortions for people who needed them. And then there's Angela, a woman who's undergoing treatments to become pregnant after she and her wife had struggled with fertility. The story kicks off with her discovering a letter from a mother, telling her daughter that she'd been adopted, and confessing that she discovered afterward that her birth mother had never wanted to give her up.
But more than any of these three women, the novel tells the history of abortion rights in Canada.
And I mean that literally. Unfortunately, none of the characters are especially fleshed out. They very often become mouthpieces, and seemed more like vehicles to relay the history of reproductive rights in Canada than characters that I could really bring myself to care about.
The prose was often clunky and stilted (and was in third-person present tense, which is my least favourite of all narration styles), and sometimes veered into dangerously purple territory. And, at times, the story just felt <i>contrived</i> so that we could be sure that the characters were where they needed to be. There was a surprise twist near the end that surprised me, and <i>not</i> in a good way (the surprise wasn't a bad one, it just didn't feel like it really fit and I wondered if it didn't raise some inconsistencies, though I'm unlikely to do a reread to find out if they're really there or not).
Criticisms aside though, this story is important, and tells a very important part of Canadian history. Marshall has clearly done her research, and while the story sometimes suffers so she could expound on that history/research, it was still very informative. I have no doubt that Marshall could have written a very good non-fiction book on the subject. Clunky writing aside, it's also very easy to read and digest.
And I would absolutely recommend this novel to anyone who cares to learn more about Canada's history with reproductive rights, especially if they would prefer to have that information come in the form of fiction over non-fiction.
Graphic: Infertility, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Police brutality
Minor: Infidelity, Dementia, and Death of parent
kawooreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
Minor: Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Blood, and Death of parent
arnold_shelby'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Abortion and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer, Confinement, Fatphobia, Infertility, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Medical content, and Kidnapping
I thought some parts of the book had unnecessary exposition, where it felt like one of the story lines was being used to feed specific aspects of history to the reader, however that was short-lived thankfully. I enjoyed this book, it was raw and a rough read at times but I was glad to have read it.rebar351's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Abortion, and Suicide attempt