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hmih'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
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Grief, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Classism
avalon_green'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
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Violence
Moderate: Miscarriage, Racism, Blood, and Kidnapping
bendercath'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
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Blood, and Kidnapping
caseythereader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fatphobia
liesthemoontells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Saying that you wish a book had been a different book/that a story had been told differently feels like a cop-out in a review. An author chooses the story they want to tell, and that is the story the reader receives. Amanda Peters wanted to tell the story of two siblings who were torn apart by an awful act, and how the trauma of that act was mirrored throughout their lives into adulthood and middle age.
The problems with this are that a) the drama of the book lags in the middle as the two characters move away from their traumatic childhood, before the reckoning of mortality brings them back to it in middle age, and b) the story of Joe is ultimately not as strong or believable as that of Norma's. I think this would have been a better book had it concentrated only on Ruthie's disappearance, or
Similarly, I think a multiplicity of viewpoints, such as the other siblings, or the parents, or the Ellises who owned the berry farm, would have made the story stronger.
The highlight of this book for me was the way Peters wrote the complicated, twisted, guilt-ridden love between Norma and her mother. It was painful, heartwrenching, and rang utterly true.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Genocide
goodyeargoodbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Alcohol
mynameisrebecca's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Blood, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
bebidocrimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Death, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Alcohol
nicoleisalwaysreading's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Miscarriage, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, and Grief
atamano'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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Racism, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cancer, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Dementia, Death of parent, and Classism
Minor: Cursing, Pregnancy, and Alcohol