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twistykris's review
adventurous
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Death, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Sexual content, Grief, and Car accident
annemariemulksibb's review against another edition
emotional
funny
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Because this is told from the perspective of the mountain lion, who doesn't know grammar and punctuation, I was glad that I read this book instead of listening to it. There were several details that I enjoyed that I would have missed otherwise.
Seeing the world through the lion's perspective was often funny, but also usually sad.
Seeing the world through the lion's perspective was often funny, but also usually sad.
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
sad but sweet! this goes on the same mental shelf as walking practice, a shelf I call “I don’t think I’ve read something exactly like this before or will again”
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Gore, and Blood
jennyf1sh's review
emotional
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death
evanlorant's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
lighthearted
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This was a fantastic read! I loved the verse and found that it added to P-22’s character much more than it detracted from my reading experience. I also thought that the narrative voice was awesome and tied the line of defamiliarization without alienating me as the reader. It was just enough to throw me off and set me back but i could still understand everything that was going on.
I found the last third took a strange turn but not necessarily bad. It was what I was expecting but not in the way that I expected it, which was great for keeping me both satisfied and hooked.The whole ‘Hecate/heckit’ thing threw me off a little but it wasn’t too bad when I saw the ending where the goddess is revealed to be wild and untameable. Fascinating way to tell a story about scarcity and abundance, privilege, and yearning with the constant threat of biology weighing above it all. I loved this book!
I found the last third took a strange turn but not necessarily bad. It was what I was expecting but not in the way that I expected it, which was great for keeping me both satisfied and hooked.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
neleusb's review
emotional
fast-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
gay people who want to hug cats will love this
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death
Minor: Sexual content
draven_deathcrush's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
fast-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
5.0
I loved this so much. I don't know why I took so long to read it. I didn't think I would relate so much to a queer mountain lion, but I did. They are me, and I am them 😂
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Violence, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Grief and Car accident
erebus53's review
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
I read this as part of a reading challenge with a prompt about a strange viewpoint. It's told in the first person from the viewpoint of a North American mountain lion / cougar, living in the Park under the foot of the Hollywood Sign. Stories like this always frustrate me because of the clumsy anthropomorphism. It's not emulating the mind or senses of an animal — it's just a story about people, and a fantasy about people watching and processing human life and culture as though from the outside.
This story doesn't have a lot of big-cat energy. It does have little slice-of life commentary about habitat destruction, poverty & homelessness, gay sex, loneliness and disconnection in the social media age, being connected to the living world.. and with some revenge fantasy mixed in, and a dream day-trip that I could NEVER see any cat of any sort enjoying ever.
It's fairly quiet and pretty short.. which is good because I would have become really grumpy about the choice of narrative style if I had to tolerate more of it. It's not as infuriating as A Cat's Tale.. but that would be a hard ask.
This story doesn't have a lot of big-cat energy. It does have little slice-of life commentary about habitat destruction, poverty & homelessness, gay sex, loneliness and disconnection in the social media age, being connected to the living world.. and with some revenge fantasy mixed in, and a dream day-trip that I could NEVER see any cat of any sort enjoying ever.
It's fairly quiet and pretty short.. which is good because I would have become really grumpy about the choice of narrative style if I had to tolerate more of it. It's not as infuriating as A Cat's Tale.. but that would be a hard ask.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
frostyjflakes's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- 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
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
hannahpings's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
haven't been able to stop thinking about open throat and its protagonist since finishing it a few days ago. i think it's irrevocably changed how i see los angeles and the land around us all. this is such a special book and i feel so lucky to have read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Excrement and Death of parent
Minor: Car accident