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jonesyp414's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
angievansprang's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Emezi never misses. This book was so fantastic. It is a prequel to their highly successful novella “Pet” which I also read and loved. I think I’m inadvertently comparing Bitter to Pet in this rating and I just happened to like Pet more, but both are truly incredible. I have never read such imaginative world-building that is so real life-adjacent but a reimagined utopian version of life as we know it. If you need hope about the state of the work at the moment, pick this one up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Blood, Murder, and War
hayleyslibrarycard's review
challenging
dark
hopeful
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
I really really enjoyed this, it had so much to say and it said it well. Even from that first paragraph and opening lines you knew this book had things to say and it wasn't gonna let you look away which I loved. It almost gave the intensity of The Hunger Games?? (In terms of the revolution and the MC not really wanting to get involved but being thrust into that world) I think I would've liked for it to be longer and slightly more fleshed out, it felt like it really galloped along and I would have liked to linger somewhat.
I read PET first (quite a while ago) and would love to reread them both again in order with the ideas from both fresh in my mind. This definitely felt like the older and wiser sister of PET and was definitely a bit more mature.
I spent quite a lot of time writing down quotes as I was reading!
It's definitely on the older side of YA and I appreciated that it didn't "dumb itself down" for it's audience. Pretty much all the characters are teenagers so sometimes they act really silly but then also sometimes they were almost too adult like? But overall I really enjoyed engaging with their thoughts on the revolution, peoples roles in it, capitalism and oppression. Teenagers in today's world NEED work like this to helo them feel less alone and overwhelmed and also show the impact of always feeling like their the ones that have to "save the world" I'm glad it also talked abut the trauma of being involved in protests etc, and I'm so happy to have an MC in Bitter that was actually scared, anxious and hesitant. I feel like a lot of the dystopia/war/revolution books have an MC that is all gung ho and ready to rumble so it was so nice to see Bitter's peers saying she can absolutely make a difference without being in the front lines and it's okay to be scared. Another theme I really connected with was art having a role in revolutions, activism and protest. It's so important to remember that these things are important too, and the poets and artists and writers help us process much of our emotions about how the world is. It also had a LOT to say about the self care side of activism too which I think a lot of YA revolution-y type books miss.
I really like Awaeke Emezi's writing style, it's vivid and real and they writes teenagers so well. I love the communities they formed and the fact that they weren't perfect communities with an absolute understanding of one another but they loved each other enough to work through it. It was truly diverse as well which is excellent to see in a YA novel and I really hope YA readers pick this up.
I read PET first (quite a while ago) and would love to reread them both again in order with the ideas from both fresh in my mind. This definitely felt like the older and wiser sister of PET and was definitely a bit more mature.
I spent quite a lot of time writing down quotes as I was reading!
It's definitely on the older side of YA and I appreciated that it didn't "dumb itself down" for it's audience. Pretty much all the characters are teenagers so sometimes they act really silly but then also sometimes they were almost too adult like? But overall I really enjoyed engaging with their thoughts on the revolution, peoples roles in it, capitalism and oppression. Teenagers in today's world NEED work like this to helo them feel less alone and overwhelmed and also show the impact of always feeling like their the ones that have to "save the world" I'm glad it also talked abut the trauma of being involved in protests etc, and I'm so happy to have an MC in Bitter that was actually scared, anxious and hesitant. I feel like a lot of the dystopia/war/revolution books have an MC that is all gung ho and ready to rumble so it was so nice to see Bitter's peers saying she can absolutely make a difference without being in the front lines and it's okay to be scared. Another theme I really connected with was art having a role in revolutions, activism and protest. It's so important to remember that these things are important too, and the poets and artists and writers help us process much of our emotions about how the world is. It also had a LOT to say about the self care side of activism too which I think a lot of YA revolution-y type books miss.
I really like Awaeke Emezi's writing style, it's vivid and real and they writes teenagers so well. I love the communities they formed and the fact that they weren't perfect communities with an absolute understanding of one another but they loved each other enough to work through it. It was truly diverse as well which is excellent to see in a YA novel and I really hope YA readers pick this up.
skittyrreads's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Never in my life have I almost cried at every chapter of a book before. Beautiful, incredibly relevant and moving. I resonated with Bitter so much, she was so realistic and it makes some of her actions in Pet make so much more sense, it was such a pleasure to view this world through her eyes. Once again the "angel" designs and actions were fantastic and I love how different they are to Pet. This was amazing and i'll be thinking about it for a while.
mwreadings's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
helenfred's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.75
mikey_reads_zero_books's review
4.0
prequel to Pet, but very different. This book is definitely more mature than Pet. Still on the younger side of a YA audience.
The book is about a girl named Bitter who lives in some kind of boarding school named eucalyptus in the middle of a city named Lucille. The city is plagued by 'monsters', also known as billionaires and corrupt officials. Bitter wants nothing to do with the protests that are constantly happening. She is deathly afraid of all the death and destruction around her. All she wants to do is stay inside her room at Eucalyptus and paint. Until her artistic passion pulls her into the middle of the conflict.
The book is about a girl named Bitter who lives in some kind of boarding school named eucalyptus in the middle of a city named Lucille. The city is plagued by 'monsters', also known as billionaires and corrupt officials. Bitter wants nothing to do with the protests that are constantly happening. She is deathly afraid of all the death and destruction around her. All she wants to do is stay inside her room at Eucalyptus and paint. Until her artistic passion pulls her into the middle of the conflict.
mae_hem's review
emotional
medium-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
kitkatsbookden's review against another edition
4.5
This is probably the best prequel I've ever read. I loved Pet and hearing Bitter's story just put it in a better perspective.
4.5/5 stars
4.5/5 stars