blewballoon'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
3.5
Spoiler
Bellatine's romance with a gravestone statue she brought to life by accident.Moderate: Child death, Antisemitism, Vomit, Death, Racism, Body horror, Gore, Xenophobia, and Violence
sparklefarm's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
If you had said, "Hey Hannah, read this folk tale about generational trauma," I don't know that I would have picked up Thistlefoot enthusiastically. But this was such a good read.
I think some people would describe this prose as flowery or purple or excessive, but for me it worked well within this folk tale setting, especially within an audiobook.
This was wonderful and I think will appeal to fans of Alix E. Harrow. I can't wait to read more from Nethercott.
Pay attention to the content warnings because it is a book about trauma, and dips occasionally into horror territory as well.
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Animal death, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Body horror
bellesunbridled's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Antisemitism, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death, Child death, Genocide, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, and Self harm
Minor: War, Sexual assault, Murder, and Violence
sarah_plemmons'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: Antisemitism, Animal death, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Blood, Car accident, Xenophobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Child death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Gore, Hate crime, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, War, and Vomit
Minor: Abandonment, Medical content, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, and Sexual content
18soft_green's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This is a good book, unfortunately.
I say it this way because a lot of the time it felt like the author was being pretentious in her flowery style and drama. The POV switches were painful and Isaac is my least favorite type of character and Bellatine is so fucking annoying! And her statue love interest is worse! Baba Yaga herself was very interesting but her great, great, great, great grandkids are the worst! In fact, it's as if Nethercotte took my least favorite types of characters, added some quirks, and dumped them into a story.
But the story is good! The grief is real, the magic is weird, the contradictions are mysterious, the walking house is fantastic! The angst, my friends! It's such good angst! Not the relationship angst, that shit was boring as hell and annoying, but the life angst, the way the characters felt about themselves, that was the true sauce.
It also felt so fucking weird that Nethercotte constantly acknowledged the atrocities of the land. Maybe that's just my privilege talking but it felt so out of place and character for the Yaga siblings. Like, this book isn't addressing those topics so why is it bringing them up. I care very much about those issues but it felt like the story was only bringing them up out of obligation and personal responsibility rather than because it was important to the story. It was awkward for me.
4/5 I would not recommend unless the situation truly called on THIS particular book
Graphic: Genocide, Grief, Hate crime, Mental illness, and Police brutality
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, and War
Minor: Animal death, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Antisemitism, Child death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Homophobia, and Self harm
shirarweiss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Antisemitism, Body horror, Genocide, War, Animal death, Child death, Death, and Religious bigotry
deetabz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Gore, War, Animal death, Body horror, Grief, Hate crime, Murder, Blood, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Genocide, Antisemitism, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Vomit
zghutcheson01's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Antisemitism, Death, and Hate crime
Moderate: Gore, Animal death, Genocide, Racism, Body horror, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Violence
winifreddie's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Antisemitism, and Child death
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: War, Murder, and Body horror
lizsurber's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Antisemitism, Blood, Xenophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Hate crime, Violence, Body horror, and Child death