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sheriffrockyraccoon's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Ok, I tried SO HARD to like this book. I love sci-fi stories that revolve around genetics/DNA, so I had really high hopes.
The writing is good. I found that her structure was a little hard to follow at times, nevertheless it was very strong and provided great imagery. My main issues came with characterization and pacing. First, I just did not like Josie. I wanted to, and I understood her perspective, but I found her too stubborn and repetitive to be likable. Also, this story is clearly about the power of women and mothers, but the scenes depicting misogyny were just so black-and-white it felt redundant. I don’t need to be told so explicitly what’s happening is wrong, I’m a woman! I know how to read between the lines!
There was also only one woman of color specifically mentioned, and she was hardly present for the story. This also gave it a white feminism vibe that felt really dated and not fitting to modern feminist movements. Again, while the story and world is so incredibly interesting, Josie’s perspective felt so limited I wonder if a multi-POV would have helped bring it more to life.
Finally, to end on a sort of better note, I loved the last 70-ish pages. The rest of the story lagged for me and I considered DNFing multiple times, but I am happy I didn’t! The end was action-packed, poignant, and perfect for this story. I truly loved those last few pages which helped give it as many stars as I did.
I’d recommend this book to Margaret Atwood fans for sure, especially since it’s reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale with its themes of femininity, motherhood, and pregnancy. Maybe this book just wasn’t my cup of tea, as so many reviews seemed to love it, so hopefully my review won’t scare you off if you’re already interested!
The writing is good. I found that her structure was a little hard to follow at times, nevertheless it was very strong and provided great imagery. My main issues came with characterization and pacing. First, I just did not like Josie. I wanted to, and I understood her perspective, but I found her too stubborn and repetitive to be likable. Also, this story is clearly about the power of women and mothers, but the scenes depicting misogyny were just so black-and-white it felt redundant. I don’t need to be told so explicitly what’s happening is wrong, I’m a woman! I know how to read between the lines!
There was also only one woman of color specifically mentioned, and she was hardly present for the story. This also gave it a white feminism vibe that felt really dated and not fitting to modern feminist movements. Again, while the story and world is so incredibly interesting, Josie’s perspective felt so limited I wonder if a multi-POV would have helped bring it more to life.
Finally, to end on a sort of better note, I loved the last 70-ish pages. The rest of the story lagged for me and I considered DNFing multiple times, but I am happy I didn’t! The end was action-packed, poignant, and perfect for this story. I truly loved those last few pages which helped give it as many stars as I did.
I’d recommend this book to Margaret Atwood fans for sure, especially since it’s reminiscent of The Handmaid’s Tale with its themes of femininity, motherhood, and pregnancy. Maybe this book just wasn’t my cup of tea, as so many reviews seemed to love it, so hopefully my review won’t scare you off if you’re already interested!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Spoilers range from minor to major, just was too lazy to categorize them, sorry!