thesneakybird's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- 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
immaninja12's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
3.5
jsheng's review
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Spoiler
Just when it was getting more interesting pulling in the mother and grandmother’s histories with participating in studies it doesn’t delve deeper. Wish they developed those threads a bit further.sjoyce11's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
lindsay_g's review
challenging
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
elwhits's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
junglefish's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
ericaburns1's review
dark
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Cool concept and themes. Unsatisfying ending with no real conclusion. No questions fully answered. I don’t necessarily want everything spelled out for me, but I wanted more to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, and Chronic illness
Moderate: Body horror, Racism, Terminal illness, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, and Torture
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
sobiereads's review
4.0
tw: medical racism, medical experimentation, gaslighting, body horror, gun violence
the throughline of the complex and nuanced mother/daughter relationship took this book from good to great. if you don’t already know about the US government torturing Black people via medical experimentation, or if you do and can stomach reading fiction about it, this book has a good mix of horror and history in a way that is respectful of the past victims and pulls no punches about the systems that keep Black americans constantly disadvantaged.
the throughline of the complex and nuanced mother/daughter relationship took this book from good to great. if you don’t already know about the US government torturing Black people via medical experimentation, or if you do and can stomach reading fiction about it, this book has a good mix of horror and history in a way that is respectful of the past victims and pulls no punches about the systems that keep Black americans constantly disadvantaged.
mrsreads1's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? No
5.0