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asuresh's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
astoriareader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
- On the first page, we are told a man killed himself in front of Joan. This sends Joan to flee across the country to LA. She is in search of a yoga instructor named Alice, but we have no idea why. We do know that her parents are no longer alive, and nothing seems to be keeping her in New York City.
- She moves into a compound, where several other people live. Her landlord is a strange older man.
- Joan vaguely refers to some trauma that happened when she was a child.
- There are lots of questions. Who is Alice? What happened to her parents? What trauma did Joan experience? Who is Joan narrating the story to? What is up with the landlord? Why did the man kill himself in front of her?
- This book is very dark & uses vulgar language in different parts. If you have any triggers, it is worth it to check out content warnings.
- The execution of this novel is impressive. It’s like a train wreck that you can’t look away from. Taddeo gives vivid, unsparing descriptions, and I can see this being divisive among readers. This will be either a book you love or a book you hate. I don’t see it falling in the middle.
- Although some parts are hard to read, I found myself unable to put down.
- Joan tells us the story, and despite being unlikable, she’s actually a fascinating character. Taddeo deftly makes it so you understand the character, even when you don’t like her. I found myself rooting for her, which I can’t say I have ever done for a main character that I didn’t like. Joan is complex & layered. She’s both a victim and a villain.
- We get a lot of flashbacks & insight into Joan’s past. Taddeo skillfully plots the book & intertwines stories from the past. There are deep wounds in her childhood. The family dynamics are extremely interesting. With the flashbacks, I felt for Joan, and I saw at her core that she was a little girl that only even wanted love (particularly her mother’s). The book looks at how our childhoods shape us & intergenerational trauma as well.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
ashpociadlo's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
elysiamann'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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
arabellaahelgason's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Murder
katienunnery's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
stevienielson's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide
Minor: Abandonment
sexpest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
This book was definitely interesting. I loved a lot of it: the description of some feelings, the dialogue, the sociological thinking sewn in through the fictional text. But there's also a lot I did not like one bit! I found Joan a tough character to root for. I definitely felt sorry for her, especially as more of her childhood was uncovered, but it was hard to really want her to do better because of the lack of information we as the reader had. It felt very shallow and unnuanced. Her hatred for men and patriarchal thinking read very limited, almost like she didn't know exactly how her own actions were hurting her most in connection to the way men treated her (i.e. the concept of "everyday rapes" that women put up with. This was a fascinating concept through a sociological lens, and I wished that Joan had felt more about it than complete resentment for men while still actively participating in it herself without any disdain for herself. And if there was disdain, it would not be as nearly volatile as it was for the male counterpart).
I think this kind of writing for a main character would work if she was presented as more of an angry person rather than quiet and docile. I wanted more emotion from her: she read very flat. Yes she would cry, and yes she would feel rage, but I think I wanted to see those emotions explode rather than just having them. If Joan had been more of a reactive person, it might have made more sense that would later murder someone.
I don't know if I'm simply just reading too much into it, but while this book did bring up a lot of interesting points and theories, I feel as if the feminist lens it was trying to be presented through was not revolutionary, but rather one that was surface-level and easily-digestible (wh*te woman feminism). It made me feel similar to the movie Promising Young Woman at times, with the way that it kind of romanticized payback for systemic, violent misogyny that just ended up with the main character being violated over again (I would rate that movie a fucking zero by the way - do not watch it!)
Again, this isn't to say that it was a bad book. The pacing wasn't too bad and the character descriptions were also very imaginative. I thought it was a cool mystery trying to find out who Joan was "writing" this for, and the end was more satisfying than most of the other ends of chapters throughout.
Another warning for triggers: mentions of child abuse, child sexual assault, rape, death of parents, death of a child, difficult pregnancies. It's definitely not a book that shies away from the realities of a lot if not all, women. I think it could have been more relatable if there wasn't so much going on in it (cheating husbands who kill themselves in front of their mistress in a packed restaurant isn't something that is exactly relatable...). Though I wouldn't recommend it, I don't think I would exactly deter someone from reading it. It just simply wasn't for me!
Graphic: Child abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Suicide attempt
lolasherwin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Death of parent
lisa00'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail