yorozuya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Classism, Slavery, Bullying, Physical abuse, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Racism
afraidofwhat's review
- 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
Graphic: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Islamophobia, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, Drug abuse, Racism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Violence, War, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Gore
julieyael's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What made me rate 4 is the world building around silverwork and the translations.
I am naturally in love with languages, ethymology and linguistics. So to have them at the center of a fiction book was a dream come true.
What I liked about this novel:
- the general theme
- the reasearch done by the author to give a good foundation and credibility to the world and story
- the academic settings, with lots of details
-the footnotes, which may seem too much explanation but actually give the reader a nice idea of the background and the events on the side, without adding to the actual text of the story.
- the general writing (it was my first book by this author)
What I thought could have been improved:
- the characters are a bit shallow to my taste. It’s hard to relate and find a coherent personnality in any of them. I love a good character, but these all seem more like quick steches rather than full illustrations, if you understand what I mean.
Some of them are just names thrown at you, and some important characters don’t seem to have a clear purpose.
- the redundance of making the point that « white men are evil, colonization is bad, all people have rights ». Yes, it’s important and it’s a main theme of the novel.
But once the author had explained that once, she could have been more subtle in the 500 other following pages. The point is made clear, but it’s the way she does it that feels redundant and sometimes a bit condescending.
- there were some lengths in the middle of the book, but I am happy that the ending turned better. (Even if some things feel a bit too easy)
To conclude this rather long review: I am glad that I read this book, but not sure if I would read it again (it was more than 500 pages, and with some flaws)
I may have been slightly generous on the rate, so I might reconsider in a few days when the dust is settled😁
Anyway, I strongly recommend the reading, it’s worth the read, even with the imperfections😊
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, Death, Gun violence, Death of parent, Slavery, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Grief, and Toxic friendship
niceonehros's review
Graphic: Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Xenophobia, Grief, Racism, Medical content, Racial slurs, Colonisation, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
sophiesmallhands's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Colonisation, Classism, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, and Gun violence
Moderate: Police brutality, Torture, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Islamophobia, and Physical abuse
Minor: War, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
zeppelinnyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Quality of Writing: 10/10
Pacing: 9/10
Plot Development: 10/10
Characters: 10/10
Enjoyability: 10/10
Ease of Reading: 6/10 (this book is Heavy)
Ending: 10/10
Graphic: War, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Colonisation, Death of parent, Death, Toxic friendship, Classism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Gun violence, Sexual harassment, Drug use, Child abuse, Murder, Xenophobia, and Suicide
samchase112'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
5.0
Full review coming soon, even if it’s just mainly just going to be a list of quotes.
Graphic: Drug abuse, Violence, Classism, Toxic friendship, Torture, Slavery, Sexism, Grief, Colonisation, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racism, Blood, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Death of parent, Death, and Child abuse
Moderate: Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, War, Fire/Fire injury, Car accident, and Addiction
Minor: Child death and Rape
lilmor'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Gore, Murder, Abandonment, Grief, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, Classism, Colonisation, Death, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Police brutality, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, War, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexism, Torture, Addiction, and Violence
nialiversuch's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Suicide, Violence, Bullying, Confinement, Misogyny, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, War, and Xenophobia
norcana's review
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Cultural appropriation, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, Murder, Racial slurs, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Religious bigotry, War, Violence, Torture, and Slavery
Moderate: Bullying and Addiction
Minor: Suicidal thoughts