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
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
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