gondorgirl'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: Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Blood, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Stalking, Animal death, Self harm, and Violence
franzys_whip's review
- 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
A teeny tiny bit slow in the beginning. Just a little. Coming from a person who reads pretty fast-paced books most of the time though, it's really not that bad.
Spoiler
#edward addington needs to choke on a bag of rotten horse dicks #olivia did nothing wrong #fuck manifest destiny and all of its consequencesGraphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Classism, Cursing, Grief, and Gun violence
Minor: Death of parent
deebot'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
Graphic: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Colonisation, Blood, Animal death, Violence, Trafficking, Slavery, Animal cruelty, Torture, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Murder, Medical trauma, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Cultural appropriation
craftypanda's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Animal death, Violence, Self harm, Murder, and Animal cruelty
uchihas's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Violence, Death, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Slavery, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement, Vomit, Slavery, Abandonment, Classism, and Colonisation
casmith512's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Violence, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal death, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Body horror, Confinement, Colonisation, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Physical abuse, Vomit, Cultural appropriation, Kidnapping, Murder, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Genocide, Gun violence, Self harm, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence
thewellbitch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Murder, Gore, and Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Torture
Minor: Abandonment and Death of parent
gia0203's review
- 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
5.0
Spoiler
there are a few particular things that struck me. the first example of violence in the book is runny mutilating his ear in self-hatred. it was so jarring and unexpected, so sad and desperate, that the image still sticks in my head. and the aftermath - blood dripping from his bandaged ear onto the dining table, or runny itching his ear every now and then - struck me too. it was such a poignant example of self-harm. and when eamon tries to hurt him and is disturbed by how much runny enjoys it... that's always going to stick with me.
i really loved how sympathetic the 'villains' were. their deaths were particular were really satisfying. i cried when eamon lay runny next to flackwell and their hands fell together. and the image of finn coming out of the burning maze with his fur burned from his body was beautiful and harrowing. bing's character arc was also really upsetting and sad, and olivia's occasional appearances were interesting too.
there was also a parallel i really liked. eamon says that he used to run away from his foster homes as a kid and go back to the forest. then at the end of the book, he returns from the mainland to the island. his perspective shows how easy and comforting it is to return to trauma. and when he realises his fate was inescapable and he can't let another child fall into the same pattern? it was beautiful. similarly, finn states at the start of the book he loves to play the game because he always wins, even if the game is fixed. his arc was about reclaiming power through violence. when you've always lost, finally winning must be intoxicating.
this was a stunning book. runny, flackwell, bing and finn are all forgivable. their deaths don't feel just, or fair. in fact, their lives are tragedies. whether they choose mercy or not, they're still trapped in their respective imaginary cages, each of them banging their heads against the bars and praying for a release that never comes.
Graphic: Death and Self harm
monsterofidaho's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Winterset Hollow clearly takes inspiration from Watership Down. Despite the story itself being set in the Pacific Northwest and the fact that the author himself is not British, it seems as though he's trying to fully imitate that style of narration and it does not work. It's clunky and it detracts from what parts of the story actually work. Bits of prose feel somewhat pretentious at times and Durham does a lot of preemptive thinking for the reader, as though he wants to be positively sure that the reader will come to the same conclusion as him no matter what.
That said, the actual story of Winterset Hollow is beautiful, wild, and devastating. As someone who grew up with Watership Down and Grimms' fairy tales, this story means a lot. The four antagonists are usually more interesting than the other characters--with the exception of Eamon, who also has a lot going on--and the way that Runny, Flackwell, Finn, and Bing all try to cope with their traumas and seek vindication are treated as complexly as they should be.
Spoiler
Finn's rage and his inability to stop hunting Eamon to the death no matter how his friends try to reason with him is bittersweet with an emphasis on the bitter. He's a terrible person but there's also something to relate to with never wanting to forgive your abusers.Graphic: Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Animal death, Death, Gore, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Slavery, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment and Confinement