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alisonvh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
bb_11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Another sentiment my bookclub shared: we couldn't wait for the first half of the novel to be over, but then the second half made us miss the first half! The end of book "climax" completely invalidates the main character's development and obliterates the stakes all at once.
Would recommend if you want to challenge yourself to critically deconstruct feminish literature and uncover evidence as to why a novel needs more than women>men to say something powerful.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body horror
wyabook234's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Misogyny, and Sexism
Moderate: Terminal illness and Medical trauma
Minor: Body horror and Death
gabbishy'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: Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Lesbophobia
forenzer'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
3.0
Minor: Body horror
cryfest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexism, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Body horror, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Dysphoria
esknight89'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
That was not what I found here. For the first few chapters I kept thinking the dragons were euphemisms for society's evils and that I had been misled. Eventually I accepted that they were actually real for the characters in the book.
The story never went in the direction I wanted it to, which was somewhat disappointing and somewhat entertaining despite it.
The allegories that the dragons represented in various parts of the story was fairly heavy-handed, in my opinion. Sometimes it seemed like the author was bludgeoning me with them.
Other reviews of this book have mentioned thinking that Alex, the main character, seemed rather slow to realize what was actually happening around her, however I didn't feel that way. Maybe it's because I'm autistic and/or trauma-informed but when someone is literally taught by their society to ignore & suppress thoughts on certain subjects, it's not much of a stretch to know that it can figuratively blind someone to the obvious.
Overall, I enjoyed reading this book. It didn't wow me but it was entertaining. It was a good palate cleanser for me after I finished reading N.K. Jemison's Broken Earth Trilogy.
Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, and Death of parent
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
thequeengeek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
I think what makes this book so engrossing and moving is exploring the implications and impacts of the allegory/fantasy element on a single family. The POV character is telling the story of her childhood and young adulthood from later in her life. So she both has the the ability to tip off the reader on the outcomes, but also give the proper emotional weight to each event as she describes it. The world-building is told through the main character and so it sometimes is a little unclear and it sometimes is a little fantastical, but the world is so well made and tangible that you believe her description of it, even when you know she's retelling her impressions as a young child from well in the future.
I don't want to give too much of the book away, but it totally undid me. I deeply cared for the POV character Alex, and her little family. I felt her loss and her yearning acutely. By the time I got to the end of the book I was sobbing both for what she looses but also what she gains.
The weaknesses of this book are similar of those you get in many "gender plague" books, they aren't the same. While Barnhill does a better job than 99% of other authors taking on the weird particularities of something being tied to gender in a world where there is a lot of gender variance but society ignores it, it could leave you with questions of "what about people like me?" Though it's said that not all people who dragon are women and that there are accounts of LGBTQ+ people (as they appeared in 1950-60s Wisconsin) dragonning, it's more set dressing than plot point. The one thing that saved this for me and made me love the book and not be overwhelmed by this line of critique in other similar themed books (like The Power) is that choice is involved. The idea that choice comes into play means that there's a lot more room to exist and exhale in the worldbuilding.
The other weakness for me is in the back half of the book where the plot takes us into the less magical realist and more fantastical realm. It's a really emotional and exciting time in the narrative and the world we are in, but somehow the physical descriptions can border on ridiculous or humerous. Maybe a little too much.
That said, I finished this book and IMMEDIATELY wanted to find people to talk to about it. The more I think about it, the more allegory, meaning, and humanity I see in it. And the way it can both be a complicated and touching book about mothers and daughters and a powerful story of agency in the face of oppression is uniquely moving.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Sexism, and Abandonment
dealingwithdragons'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: Alcoholism, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Gun violence
The mentions of guns are mainly in the context of "dragons are bulletproof". Body horror is entirely women turning into dragons.itsheyfay'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
4.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Misogyny, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Ableism, Body horror, Chronic illness, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Fire/Fire injury