caitlynva'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
Graphic: Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Rape, Injury/injury detail, and Gaslighting
lindsayerin'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
4.25
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Death, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault and Injury/injury detail
Minor: Violence
indydc'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Death, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Child death, Drug use, Addiction, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, and Death
Minor: Cancer
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Death of parent, Mental illness, Addiction, Child death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Alcohol, Sexual violence, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Sexual content, Trafficking, Vomit, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, and Racism
Minor: Violence, Confinement, and War
katharina90's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Definitely a slow burn and the side-by-side storylines in the beginning took me a while to get into but overall I really enjoyed this book.
What resonated most with me was the thread of yerba buena, flowers and other plants that winds its way through the novel.
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Grief, Death, Addiction, and Sexual content
Minor: Blood and Injury/injury detail
ienbdri'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
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, and Death
Minor: Injury/injury detail, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Violence
andreadelo'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
3.75
Moderate: Trafficking, Sexual assault, Rape, and Sexual violence
Minor: Child death, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Cancer, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug use, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
glmarie0428's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Spoiler
It all starts off really dark with a young girl who needs to leave town because she has watched her girlfriend be lifted out of a river dead and then proceeds to leave home ASAP by sleeping with someone for money and taking off with a guy that she barely knows. Both women do not have great home lives or experiences with love, so it interesting to watch how they interact with different people whether or not they are in a romantic sense. I would love to reread this novel to better understand the symbolism of the Yerba Buena, but it is constantly reoccurring. The connection between the two women at the end is worth all of it in the end, as their connection is tender, genuine, but also understandingly hesitant.Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/injury detail, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, and Sexual content
Minor: Abandonment
zarap'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
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Rape, Infidelity, and Addiction
Minor: Injury/injury detail and Blood
blackcatkai's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This was a pretty great start to LaCour's entry into the adult fiction world. It does cover a lot of heavy topics, so take any content/trigger warnings seriously before diving in. With the way the blurb sounded, I DID think it'd be a little more focused on the two MC's coming together than it actually was.
This is mainly a contemporary literary fiction novel about two women's lives and the trauma & experiences they go through throughout their lives before those lives intersect. it touches on them together in a couple points (similar to Normal People by Sally Rooney), but it focuses a lot more on their individual events without each other. I found the pacing in the middle to be a bit slow, but it had a strong beginning and ending and I ultimately was rooting for them.
I hope LaCour continues to dive into the adult fiction world, I will absolutely continue reading her work. I was just expecting a little more here & was honestly a bit confused in points.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/injury detail, Classism, and Mental illness
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Ableism