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hiddenfallacies's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
From its real-world details (that had me pausing in my reading to look up the historical context) to its richly expressed environments, I found myself lost in this story quite easily. The narrative often made me feel as if I was experiencing the world alongside Mary, sharing her sorrows and triumphs and everything in-between. Perhaps that was one of my favorite things about this novel - all of the characters felt real.
The only thing preventing this from being a five-star read is that I felt the story ended right as it was truly beginning for Mary! I would love to see the follow-up the author joked about in their note at the end.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Lesbophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Vomit, and Colonisation
rowan2323's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Blood, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Misogyny, Racism, Grief, and Classism
eleanora'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Addiction, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
burnourhistory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Misogyny, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Xenophobia, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction and Drug use
n0elle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Now, while I do know the author tried hard to make it appear historically correct, I found it absolutely exhausting to read hundreds of pages of men dictating the protagonist’s life, telling her what she can and can’t do, how she should behave, what (little) she’s worth.
I’m all for women in STEM, driven by ambition and scientific ideas that lead through breakthroughs. BUT if her ideas and success are always overshadowed by a man or even taken by a man, while she just sits idly by.. that’s infuriating, historically correct but still infuriating. And while the main character did get mad about these things, she always stayed quiet. In the rare moments she didn’t, she was belittled and reprimanded so much, I felt the shame of being a woman bleed through the pages.
Maybe the writing was just too good and too real and it made me feel so many emotions, some of which I could have gone without.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
nefariousbee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I am frankly disappointed. This could have been exciting, dark, passionate... but it fell flat. Somehow it was barely dark. In my opinion this could have been a great book, but it needed to lean into the horror, and do some serious editing. As it is, it's just. Fine.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Gore, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Racism, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Minor: Emotional abuse, Colonisation, and Pandemic/Epidemic
natashaleighton_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Gore, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism, Sexual assault, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation