kamreadsandrecs's review
challenging
dark
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
5.0
There are many themes woven into this novel – themes about faith, for instance, and what it means to become divine – but the one that stands out the most for me is...the difficulty of doing what is right, not least because figuring right from wrong is always harder than it seems. A person may desire to do “the right thing,” but that desire can be easily twisted and manipulated, until what one does might seem “right”, but turns out to be in the service of something terrible. This is what happens to Yasira: she is twisted and manipulated to do things that she later comes to realize are terrible. But she learns from those mistakes, and, as I have said earlier, chooses to reject two evils instead of choosing the lesser one, even if doing “the right thing” comes at great personal cost.
Full review here: https://kammartinez.wordpress.com/2021/09/20/review-the-outside-ada-hoffmann/
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture and Bullying
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