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funkylitchick'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Abandonment
mfrisk'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
3.5
I really enjoyed the atmosphere and the build up of the Tox and how that shaped Raxter and those within it. The scenes with the deer and one of the character’s parents were particularly chilling in their descriptions. The dual perspective was done fairly well though I think I was waiting for more from Byatt’s side in terms of her backstory and what drove her to lie.
Things I didn’t love were the seemingly out of nowhere nature of the romance. While there were some touching moments it was a bit confusing and didn’t feel fully realized.
And finally the ending was a huge disappointment. While you think the ending would at least give us more information about the navy and cdc involvement or about the tox or even what happens next we instead are led to an ending where we determine what happens. It felt like a chapter was missing and while I wasn’t expecting a happy ending perfect wrap up I definitely didn’t expect what we got.
I hope to read more from this author as I overall really enjoyed this book but there were definitely some aspects I just wanted to see be pushed further given the darkness of the story.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit and Toxic friendship
sinaprst's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
i picked this up because i liked the cover, so i knew basically nothing about the story whatsoever going into this
in short: the book is about a boarding school on an island were somesort of virus or diseases spread, that lead to several students and teachers dying while others grew second body parts or similar stuff. now the school and island have been on lock down for i believe 18 months, while the government tries to find a cure (alledgedly). we follow our main character Hetty and her friends Bryce (i think is her name) and Reese while they trie to survive and figure out what is going on the island.
first of all, i loved the writing style. the author used some interesting choices, especially with the second pov character later on, that might not be for everyone, but i absolutly adored them.
the beginning is very slow. the first like 60 pages felt like ages to me, because nothing really happens except for pages over pages of exposition and world building.
but after that i got hooked and couldn`t put it down
nonetheless i felt like the book lacked some depth in some parts. i couldn`t really connect to any of the characters and in end still felt like i knew nothing about them, eventhough the story is very character driven
the sapphic lovestory also felt very out of the blue
also, did Hetty and Reese really just leave the rest of the girls to die on the island, when they literally scolded the headmistress and this other girl for the exact same thing just like one page before that??? this behaviour really confused and is probably one of the reasons why the ending felt so weird to me.
all in all, i loved the cover, premise and writing style, but the characters felt shallow, the lovestory underdeveloped and the ending questionable, therefore well deserved 3/5 stars from me :)
edit: i have just found out that her name is Byatt and not Bryce
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Gore, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Torture
qu1rr3l'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
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
booksbutmakeitgay's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
its_nix'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: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Abandonment
prishaa_23's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Animal death
andromeda_1998'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Characters
Hetty; Im not sure about my opinion about her. She is a bit typical main character but I didn’t really mind reading about her. She is a teenager, makes mistakes that a girl her age would make and she can do things without thinking them through.
Byatt; she seems nice, she’s a good friend and an interesting character to read about. I’m not sure if I like the writingstyle that Rory Power decided to use for her but I’m okay with it.
Reece: Well she is the typical bitchy character with trauma. Who reacts a curtain way to protect herself.
Writing
Rory Power uses two different writingstyles throughout the book and where I liked one, I disliked the other, but from the beginning it was a clear choice. She made that choice for a reason and I do respect that.
Worldbuilding
For me the idea of the setting was good, but I’m not sure if she explains her world enough.
Plot
We start the story a full year after the tox has invaded the island. The tox changes everything it touches. Wildlife became more aggressive and dangerous, and plants that where normal are becoming toxic and even the girls on the island change in ways they don’t understand. Nobody knows why. On island is an only girl school where survivors of the tox still live. Hetty, Reece and Byatt are three of those survivors. When one of Hetty’s friends goes missing she has to find out what happened or face the consequences.
The story has queer elements, is high stakes and the book has its ways to keep you invested in it from the start. It’s fast paced, the ending blows you away and sadly leaves you with questions unanswered.
Why a duology instead of a stand-alone?
The worldbuilding, I felt that there was more to explain about the island and the tox. But while the explanation my be there, it’s done rushed and I believe the story suffers for it. I think it would have been better as a duology. The first book would be the beginning of the tox, we would see the island crumble under a new disease. We could have seen the first months, since it’s clearly important to know about it but Power doesn’t seem to find time to go in depth. The second book would be this one, but with more room for the explanation behind the tox and maybe even a third pov from one of the still remaining grownups on the island. Power would have time to answer most questions and she would still have been able to end the story the she did.
Recommendations: I do like this book, and I think that readers who enjoyed this one would love gone by Micheal Grant.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Gore, Self harm, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
laurav's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Suicide attempt, and Murder
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Confinement, Self harm, Vomit, Grief, and Murder