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maryjr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Firstly I should say that I am just so glad to have dystopian, end of the world stories where queer characters are at the forefront. This book has queer and trans characters as all of the main points of view, although the trans and non binary characters didn't have the most satisfying story arcs in comparison to the queer women. The writing style contained a lot of telling us what characters were thinking and feeling rather than showing us, which is not my preferred style of storytelling but once I accepted this, it bothered me less over the course of the book as the scope of time covered in the book perhaps forced this to be the case. Perhaps if this story was split into a duology or trilogy, it could have taken more time to allow us to have more natural and nuanced character and worldbuilding development.
The billionaire extreme 'feminist' character who is entirely responsible for the events of this story is a bit of a caricature of the evil villain, but in all honesty I can see the types of people in our real world that have been drawn from to inspire this character so perhaps she is realer than I give credit for. The main characters who's points of view we rotate between are mostly likeable and distinguishable as individuals, but to me, it also felt like they were fairly one-dimensional in their personalities and often did not react to situations in realistic ways. We are introduced to them at the beginning of the book as each being young, intelligent and ambitious, and yet over the course of 30 or so years, they didn't seem to develop beyond their initial youthful naivety. This may be the reason why this book felt more YA than I expected.
The worldbuilding had some good atmospheric elements but it also felt to me like it struggled to maintain underlying logic and a sense of reality considering the highly drastic nature of the plot. The climate change progression felt very plausible but some of the technological / scientific / medical advancements were less believable than others. There were also just so many times during reading when I wondered whether it would really be possible for so much power to land in the lap of one individual, or how so many intelligent characters could be swept into such drastic plot points with so little convincing.
Overall, whilst this was perhaps not the most satisfying dystopian sci fi story I've read in terms of convincing worldbuilding and character development, I can't deny that I was fully swept up in the snowballing events and absolute madness of the plot. The intrigue for how everything would play out kept me very invested in the story. I personally enjoyed the length of time that was covered and the scale of the plot. It also left me thinking about the concepts and possibilities of events like these when I wasn't reading, even after finishing the book. So all in all, I don't know if this is a particularly well executed sci fi story, but it definitely is engaging queer fiction that I would recommend to friends, if only so we could discuss the outlandishness of it all.
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
k_shimer's review
- 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: Confinement, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Dysphoria
Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infertility, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
pm_me_book_recs'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? It's complicated
4.0
A lite scifi criticism of white femme power spaces, the danger of trans exclusion and generalization of gender, and how the future must be inclusive for humanity's survival. Dashes of romance, mystery, thriller, and corporate intrigue. The story switches perspectives between a handful of characters, each experiencing different facets of The Inside, over the time span between 2050-2078. There are some steamy sapphic moments, but mostly the romance element is slow burn.
It was refreshing to see a white author tackle these subjects with care, earnestness, and precision. This type of call-out should not always fall onto non-white, non-cis/het folks!
Graphic: Confinement, Transphobia, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Ableism, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol
dykebakery'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
wornpagesandendlesscoffey's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Ableism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Minor: Pandemic/Epidemic
nukie19's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Thanks to the publisher for providing an ARC through Net Galley in exchange for an honest review.
Graphic: Confinement, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Alcohol