The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
msradiosilence'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? Yes
3.5
Content warnings at the bottom. :)
Well, I canât always have nice things. Once again, Meyer seems allergic to describing her settings in any detail, and once again itâs set in a culture that she, as a white woman, has no claim on. As such, and additionally with my other gripe, this is the beginning of the Lunar Chronicles downhill plummet.
Much like in Laini Taylorâs Strange the Dreamer and Muse of Nightmares, I hate age gaps like the one in Cress. Cress is 16. Sheâs a child. And Thorne is a grown ass man. Itâs especially icky because he pushes her away not because sheâs a child but because he doesnât think heâs good enough for her. So, gross. Hate it. Also, their miscommunication drives me nuts. I hate miscommunication plots.
I also donât like that
Rating: 3.5
Would I recommend? Kind of, especially if you enjoy age gaps, found family and literally found family, and sci-fi fairytale retellings.
Content warnings: Death, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Genocide, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Pandemic/Epidemic, Ableism, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Dementia, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Violence, War, Medical content, and Torture
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Gore, Murder, Pandemic/Epidemic, War, Grief, Death of parent, Dementia, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Child death, Ableism, Child abuse, Death, Medical content, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Car accident, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
nytephoenyx'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence and Ableism
Moderate: War
psliz'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
3.5
Graphic: Death, War, Torture, Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, and Confinement
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Ableism, and Kidnapping
emiliaphrodite'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
3.5
buttttttt now that iâm older, my perspective on this book has really changed. kai acts like a child when heâs a literal emperor, although he does have some self-awareness, and i appreciate that. i kid you not, the way thorne treats cress while theyâre in the desert? thatâs the way i treat my students in ELEMENTARY.
the biggest turn-around of all is that wolf is actually my favorite now, and he and scarlet genuinely feel like the most mature characters from the crew. tall, hulking, chivalrous? yes plzzzz đ¤¤
i read somewhere that there are a few microaggressions in the book, and now that theyâve been pointed out to me, I canât unsee them. someone tell me why the linh family has a vietnamese last name, practices more japanese culture, but lives in china??? i understand theyâre all united under the commonwealth now, but i wouldâve appreciated not having to jump through the numerous logical leaps and bounds in order to excuse this extreme blurring of asian cultures.
that doesnât even begin the notes on ableism scattered throughout the book. the words âcrazy,â âlunatic,â and âpsychoticâ are tossed around way too easily. thatâs just the beginning.
itâs giving white woman learns about racism and thinks sheâs done something. and yes, she did, but she also clearly didnât do her research. why is it that scarletâs accent is only mentioned now when cinder and thorne wouldâve noticed in their chapters immediately, but when theyâre all in africa, the author doesnât forget to mention the accents of the locals once? not to mention lunars likely have their own accents? overall, the world building was so poorly done that itâs easy to see why and how the author slipped up and failed to mention all these differing accents in the beginning.
i am not saying i donât love this book. i really, genuinely do, and cresswell will always be adorable to me. but now that iâm older and my world view is different, things like this donât just skip past the way they once did.
Moderate: Ableism, Cultural appropriation, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexism
cadybooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Confinement, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content