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gandalfsleftshoe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Confinement, Gore, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
thebetterstory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Unfortunately, the book didn't seem to have any real themes to tie its plot together. The Tox seems perfectly designed to be a meaningful metaphor: it's only survivable by cis girls (or presumably AFAB folks in general, which is addressed), it only hits during or after puberty, and in at least some of its forms it causes the victims to develop bestial features, animalistic rage and merge with sentient plant life. At times the book seems to suggest it frees the girls from the confines of their social and gender roles, but most of the time it's just played straightforwardly as an uncomplicated horror-flavoured problem with no greater meaning. It works that way because it works that way.
Without particularly strong prose or ideas to fall back on, the plot meanders around and becomes just a series of things happening. Often bad things happening, often directly as the result of poor decisions made by the main trio of girls. I frequently had the urge to reach through the book and shake them.
So with all that said, do the characters and their relationships manage to carry the book? Nope. The characterization is wildly inconsistent. We're introduced to Byatt as someone caring and good at holding herself together for other people's sake, and the way the book rips that away isn't so much interesting as baffling because there was little to no foreshadowing. Reese is established as a cold, harsh determinator with a temper who wants to survive and win no matter what, but she spends most of the second half of the book being the opposite of pragmatic, while Hetty steps in to take that role. Meanwhile, a ton of emphasis is placed on Hetty's guilt and feelings of camaraderie towards the other girls,
The weak, half-hearted ending is just the final straw. If you want a first-person book about a clever group of women in isolated circumstances dealing with mystery and excellent eco-horror, I'd recommend you bypass this entirely and go for Annihilation instead.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm and Vomit
zmeiat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Nevertheless it was a good read.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit
beeboy03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Self harm, Suicide, and Vomit
annoyedbabe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
_corrin'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
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Animal death, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Medical content, and Gaslighting
sufferingsapph0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
agnela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
milesbian'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Jokes aside, this was an... interesting book. I just finished, so maybe I should let it settle a bit more better writing this, but eh.
First off, the obvious: the ending. The ending was... it just was. It definitely leaves you with questions, way too many questions, but I don't know. I didn't think it was absolutely horrible like other people claim. Seriously, based on what I'd heard, I was expecting the most dogshit writing I've ever seen lol. But I think maybe, for some people at least (and this is why I'm being vague and not marking this as spoilers, so that anybody that wants to read the book but is wary because of all the reviews lambasting the ending can see), you just need to go into it knowing you aren't going to get all the answers to all your questions. In fact, you won't be getting the answers to most of your questions. So just keep that in mind. And a bit more in regards to my own thoughts: there is so much we don't get to learn, and I know it feels more like the end to a chapter rather than the whole book, but personally, I think there's almost something admirable in that. It doesn't tell you what happens next, and I think that's what'll help this story stay with me: the questions, and the wondering.
Honestly, people complain so much about the ending, but I had way more of an issue with the beginning of the book. The book has a very rough start imo, the writing coming across somewhat juvenile and just a tad bit too edgy for my liking. I would go into more detail if I wasn't typing all of this up on my phone, but basically, I just really feel like the first few chapters could've used more editing than I think they actually got. Like, when I first started this book, I described it to my dad as a YA version of Annihilation (and yes, though I don't usually approve of the way some people use "YA" as shorthand for "bad," I did mean that in a disparaging way). I even considered DNFing it. But I'm glad I kept reading. It's not a perfect book, and the ending seems to be divisive, but overall, it was a decent read with an interesting premise. Whether it sticks the landing, honestly, is up to you; but for me, I do think this is a book I'll be thinking about for a while.
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
laughingrecord's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic