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ash_ton'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
3.75
i was not expecting the turn the book took. like, at all. wild
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Cultural appropriation
maksipad'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
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
strawberrytheauthor'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Infertility, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Cannibalism
razzberry_pi'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
4.75
usually i can guess where book twists are going to be, but this one suprised me while still making sense.
definitely head the content warnings on this one as a lot of the topics are quite heavy, but the topics were handled with care in a purposeful way, not just trauma porn
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Stalking, and Murder
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, and Colonisation
lpdx'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
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer and Medical content
cookiecat73'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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Racial slurs, Slavery, and Excrement
literarypenguin'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
4.0
This book follows a young woman named Vern, a girl born with albinism and astigmatism as she escapes the confines of a cult she was raised in along with her newborn twins Howling and Feral. She hopes to leave that world behind her as she strives to raise her babies in a better and less restricting world. Vern must also learn how to live in this unfamiliar world as she deals with an unexpected change inside of her.
One of the things I loved is how realistic the issues were handled but it was also handled with care and nuance. I loved how the author touched upon racism within the African American community with Vern being albino she never felt like she could connect with the other darker skinned people in her community. It also dealt with homophobia and pedophilia, with Vern being forced into a relationship with a man twice her age while also feeling an attraction toward women but having to hide it to avoid persecution. Cainland was a very believable place to me and their beliefs were written in such a way that made it that much more believable. It made me think that a place like this could exist in reality.
Watching Vern's journey to travel a world she was groomed to fear along with learning how to be a mother to her two children was the part of the book I enjoyed a lot. The second half I will admit did lose me a bit especially the ending. I felt like the ending was trying to hard to create a happy ending when it would have done just as well with a unhappy ending. Even a more neutral ending could have worked in it's favor. I would have loved the book to focus more on Cainland and Vern having to finally come to terms with the trauma that it gave her throughout her whole life. Also the sex scenes were a bit too much with one in particular being very disturbing to me in my opinion.
Besides a few little issues I did enjoy this book and are eager to read more books by Rivers Solomon! I went to see how well their other books fare in comparison to this one!
Graphic: Body horror and Racism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Homophobia
Minor: Alcoholism
strange_little_ranger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
lilifane'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
4.0
It's a story about Vern, who is raised in an isolated cult community. After she is forced to marry the reverend and gets pregnant, she flees the compound and tries to survive on her own.
It's a very raw and gritty story, with fantastical and horror elements. I really liked the writing, even though the graphic violence, gore, body horror and visceral descriptions were not my favorite thing. Although, they created a great atmosphere that fit the story.
I was surprised how mysterious and introspective the story was while still being a page turner full of action. Important themes like racism, misogyny, religion, identity, belonging, motherhood and queerness were very prevalent in the book. I especially enjoyed the found family trope and the survival aspect of the story (please be aware that animals are harmed and eaten, though) as well as the diversity. There are queer, intersex and disabled characters and the protagonist is all of it combined. Vern is a very flawed but also resilient character, I loved her and was rooting for her. The character development is amazing, as well as the relationships and their development. And I absolutely adored Howling and Feral!
I had some issues with parts of the plot and the pacing, but in the end everything fit so well together, and I was not expecting to like the ending as much as I did.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
cascannotread'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
4.5
Thank you to Netgalley for providing me with a digital arc in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Body horror and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, and Pregnancy