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fozlandgirl'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
vixenreader'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, and Classism
Minor: Pedophilia, Racism, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and War
The scenes of the protagonists barging up their organs is creative and grotesque, and the dogma of the cult could be triggering for anyone who has experienced abuse from a zealous community. Be warned that there is also maternal abuse, critique of religion being used for violence and genocide, an almost forced marriage, biological experimentation on unwilling victims, and bodily mutation.magnan1mouse'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? It's complicated
5.0
I found it to be well-written and while I HATED Nick at some points (for his actions, not how the character was made),
Graphic: Body horror, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child abuse, Deadnaming, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, and Cannibalism
fuguefire's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
The second part of this theme is displayed by Nick, leader of the ALC, and once a member of the Angels. throughout the book, we see Nick's mistrust of Benji, and with good reason. There was a really good moment where benji confronts Nick about using the pronoun "it" in stead of "he" and I think it was a really good example of how trans (and minority) characters cannot be written like they exist in a vacuum, and also the ways that people even inside the queer community can still level violence at one another. Of course, at the end of this intense scene, half of benji's face falls off, and suddenly the audience is reminded that this whole conflict over pronouns might not be happening if not for christian extremism in the first place. Perhaps there is a world where Benji and Nick would happily be friends, celebrating their queerness in a loving community. But that world is not theirs anymore.
Finally, I think that Nick's fate in this story is worth noting. Nick, leader of the ALC, whom nobody expected had any ties to the Angels, still gets partially transformed by the latent virus that he was inoculated with as a kid. This is a perfect metaphor for the life-long consequences of being exposed to religious abuse. Even years after you've escaped their influence, and after spending your whole life dedicated to righting their wrongs, a trace of it is always there with you, waiting to bare its teeth.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Kidnapping, Stalking, Outing, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and War
spooderman'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Colonisation, Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Slavery, Cannibalism, Stalking, and Alcohol
Minor: Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Rape, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, and Lesbophobia