ihavecoolhats6's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Death
Moderate: Violence, Gore, and Blood
Minor: Toxic friendship and Bullying
chamaeleontis's review
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Gore, Bullying, Sexual content, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Animal death, and Violence
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
medium-paced
- 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
This is marketed as a cross between Buffy and Stranger Things, and that absolutely hits the nail on the head. Anderson has crafted this incredibly creative world, where Ladybirds fight monsters that appear because of people's emotions. I loved that they mentioned things like Girl Scouts, and the Ladybirds used groups like that as a cover for the fact that they go out slaying these monsters every night instead. That concept is just so fun and it was executed, for the most part, really well.
There's a lot of great discussion in here about gender, about the way society separates us out by gender, and the ways that women are kind of supposed to be emotional guardians. Prudence decides to leave the Ladybirds because it was too much of a reminder of the death of her friend, but in training new recruits, she's able to see that maybe she could make a change to some of the more probelmatic aspects of the organization. Her character arc and emotional journey is a satisfying one, and she makes a great narrator for the story.
I will say, this is tagged as LGBTQ, but there's really only one side character who is a lesbian and it's not mentioned very much. I do kind of wish this was more present in the book because there were so many opportunities for it, but oh well. I still loved the way this book fought against the patriarchy and worked to say that you can go out slaying monsters as much as you want, but your emotional health is just as important as your physical health. Not enough fantasy books talk about that!
All in all, this was a fun read that fans of any kind of monster hunting I think will love. And the narrator for the audiobook does a fantastic job!
There's a lot of great discussion in here about gender, about the way society separates us out by gender, and the ways that women are kind of supposed to be emotional guardians. Prudence decides to leave the Ladybirds because it was too much of a reminder of the death of her friend, but in training new recruits, she's able to see that maybe she could make a change to some of the more probelmatic aspects of the organization. Her character arc and emotional journey is a satisfying one, and she makes a great narrator for the story.
I will say, this is tagged as LGBTQ, but there's really only one side character who is a lesbian and it's not mentioned very much. I do kind of wish this was more present in the book because there were so many opportunities for it, but oh well. I still loved the way this book fought against the patriarchy and worked to say that you can go out slaying monsters as much as you want, but your emotional health is just as important as your physical health. Not enough fantasy books talk about that!
All in all, this was a fun read that fans of any kind of monster hunting I think will love. And the narrator for the audiobook does a fantastic job!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, and Gore
Minor: Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Misogyny
notalightbulb's review
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death, Gore, and Panic attacks/disorders
imstephtacular's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Body horror, Medical content, Bullying, Mental illness, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Blood, Drug use, Grief, Gore, and Death
Minor: Misogyny, Alcohol, and Homophobia
melaniereadsbooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
4.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book.
Prudence is a legacy Ladybird Scout, but it's not all just teaparties and pink uniforms. The Ladybirds are actually a secret society hunting interdimensional parasites that feed on human emotion-and sometimes just humans. After witnessing the death of her best friend, Prudence left the Ladybirds, but she is forced to train new recruits by her mother, and discovers secrets about her old group that she will have to expose.
This was pure fun! I seriously love the premise and really enjoyed Prudence and her friends and family. The narration is so good! Frankie Corzo is one of my all time favorite audiobook narrators and I was not disappointed this time!
I think this struck a good balance between fun and kooky and weird, but also dealing with some serious topics. It battles some interesting themes surrounding familial expectations and secrecy, as well as dealing with Prudence's PTSD. I enjoyed this one a lot!
Prudence is a legacy Ladybird Scout, but it's not all just teaparties and pink uniforms. The Ladybirds are actually a secret society hunting interdimensional parasites that feed on human emotion-and sometimes just humans. After witnessing the death of her best friend, Prudence left the Ladybirds, but she is forced to train new recruits by her mother, and discovers secrets about her old group that she will have to expose.
This was pure fun! I seriously love the premise and really enjoyed Prudence and her friends and family. The narration is so good! Frankie Corzo is one of my all time favorite audiobook narrators and I was not disappointed this time!
I think this struck a good balance between fun and kooky and weird, but also dealing with some serious topics. It battles some interesting themes surrounding familial expectations and secrecy, as well as dealing with Prudence's PTSD. I enjoyed this one a lot!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Bullying
bookbrig's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
4.5
This is a fantastic read with an ending that left me extremely satisfied and bumped my rating up a star. The characters are amazing-incredibly well drawn, and imperfectly teenagery in a super realistic way. With mystery, romance, and monster slaying gore, it's a great choice for summer, and I'll definitely be booktalking it to our teens. Could possibly pair it with Squad by Maggie Tokuda-Hall for a graphic novel/regular novel book club read. I'd recommend this to readers who like stuff like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Stranger Things, or Lumberjanes, but it's also completely its own wonderful story.
I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher for review.
I received an eARC from NetGalley and the publisher for review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Gore
Minor: Bullying
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