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trailmixraisins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Mental illness, Racism, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Police brutality
Minor: Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
readingwithkaitlyn'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: Ableism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Dementia, and Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Stalking, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Genocide, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Trail of tears, f slur, s slur.mbmayo'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: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Dementia
Moderate: Drug use, Genocide, Violence, Grief, Stalking, and Colonisation
Minor: Confinement and Racism
torturedreadersdept'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: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Dementia, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Colonisation
cantfindmybookmark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug use and Dementia
Moderate: Child death, Physical abuse, Racism, and Police brutality
Minor: Confinement
colettesjourney'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
leahsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Child death, Confinement, Gun violence, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Mental illness
darcyreadssometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘭𝘢𝘶𝘯𝘤𝘩𝘦𝘥 𝘪𝘯𝘵𝘰 𝘢 𝘭𝘰𝘯𝘨 𝘦𝘹𝘱𝘭𝘢𝘯𝘢𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 𝘢𝘣𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘣𝘢𝘴𝘦𝘥 𝘰𝘯 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴, 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘦𝘳𝘴 𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘦𝘢𝘳 𝘪𝘯 𝘷𝘢𝘳𝘪𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘧𝘰𝘳𝘮𝘴.
“𝘓𝘰𝘰𝘬, 𝘭𝘰𝘰𝘬.” 𝘞𝘺𝘢𝘵𝘵 𝘴𝘢𝘪𝘥, “𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘴𝘵𝘰𝘳𝘪𝘦𝘴 𝘢𝘭𝘭 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘴𝘰𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘩𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘪𝘯 𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘰𝘯, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘛𝘩𝘦𝘺’𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘪𝘬𝘦 𝘮𝘦𝘥𝘪𝘤𝘪𝘯𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩𝘰𝘶𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘣𝘢𝘥 𝘵𝘢𝘴𝘵𝘦, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵? 𝘐𝘵’𝘴 𝘨𝘰𝘰𝘥 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘺𝘰𝘶.”
This was also my first read in my 2021 challenge to myself to read at least 12 books by Indigenous authors. Things I googled (and would recommend googling) to enhance my reading experience: the Trail of Tears, Tsala, and the Darkening.
While I don’t think this book is for everyone, I recommend it, especially to people who enjoy literary fiction, who like weird books, who appreciate morally grey characters, and who like seeking connections across seemingly disparate storylines.
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Genocide, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Violence, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Stalking
briwithabook's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I had really high expectations for this book going in. It sounded extremely timely and like it would really be something I could connect with. Every adult has experienced grief at some point in their lives, and I was interested to see the way each family member handled the loss of Ray-Ray. However, I did not necessarily feel a connection to any of them. Maria, the mother and matriarch of the family, was the one for whom I had the most empathy. I felt sad for her and all that she endured. With one child gone, another addicted to drugs, and a husband suffering from Alzheimer's, she was surely dealing with a lot. I also liked Wyatt, but wish I had been given more of his story.
However, I found a lot of the book to be far-fetched and so strange that I expected certain storylines to be revealed as a dream or fantasy world. There were things that made no sense in a realistic world, and they were never explained in a way that was satisfactory to me.
And as much as I didn't connect with the story, I do actually think it should've been longer. I think that would've allowed the storylines to be more fleshed out and given the reader a better understanding and more complete picture of each character. It felt like so much was crammed into each person's story, but none of it really went any deeper than the surface.
While I liked the idea of interspersing Native American folklore into the story, I didn't feel like it was executed well. I actually found those chapters to be disconnected from the rest of the story. They almost seemed like "filler" and I didn't feel as if they tied into the overall plot of the book very well. I don't know if it just went over my head or if others will feel the same way.
Overall, I felt that the author tried to add in too many plot points without enough depth. It tried to cover a lot of important topics, but didn't give any of them enough exploration to be worthwhile. I also think that having Ray-Ray having been killed by a police officer served no real purpose in the story. He literally could have died any other way and the rest of the story could've been kept largely the same.
That all being said, I am sure that some people will love this book. It was a fairly quick read, and I did like that the chapters were short and we got to see things from each family member's viewpoint. I am admittedly not a very abstract reader, and too much of it was unrealistic for me to enjoy the book.
I received a free copy of this book from netgalley and the publisher in exchange for my honest review.
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Drug abuse, Dementia, and Grief
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Physical abuse, and Racism