Scan barcode
emmacarroll27's review against another edition
1.75
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, and Alcohol
Minor: Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Xenophobia, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
evanaviary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.5
Although it's effectively a two-hander, this book is too short to make much of an impact. Two content moderators, Kayleigh and Sigrid, take up most of the novel, as their relationship falters as their job slowly eats away at their morality, their ability to delineate right from wrong. But neither Kayleigh or Sigrid, or their coworker friend group, is really identifiable. They're not rounded characters I was never invested in their trajectory—again, because of the tone: cold, alienated. From the beginning, these are characters hired to do a calculated job: review objectionable content, identify if it violates community guidelines, and receive a score based on accuracy. There's not enough time or space for us to be invested in these characters, because by the time we meet them, it seems they're already too far into the work. They've already sunk into the routine, part of their good nature stripped away as they watch incendiary content for hours each day. This book would've benefitted from being twice as long so that we could better understand these characters.
Bervoets was close here: the subject of content moderators and what makes content objectionable in an increasingly open digital age is interesting, but ultimately unexplored here. The book employs shock for the sake of shock, showing the dregs of online content without much followthrough. We see how it affects Kayleigh and Sigrid's relationship, sort of, but again, it feels rushed. We don't see how the work has impacted these characters longterm, who they were before being a moderator. And every time something graphic is depicted (and the content warning list is exhaustive here), it feels like it's just there to be startling. It often adds very little to the greater world of the novel. It's inflammatory. That's it. That's all. By the end, there are threads that connect back to early sections. This book might benefit from re-readings, if you wanted to put yourself through that. I don't.
Rating it a generous two stars as it's not completely without merit: there's a shallow groundwork here; a rough discussion of how exposure to depravity affects our outlook. A question of how you maintain humanity in a line of work to asks you to witness a complete lack of it. There's something here. It's clearly researched, but nowhere near nuanced, often times moving too quickly and without focus. There's a moment where Kayleigh's coworkers begin spouting the very conspiracy theories they review. It feels like Bervoets is almost on the mark, but then it ends. Any time it feels like we're about to break ground and move into something meaningful, we pull away. There's too much ground here and not enough surface. In the end, this book portends it has a much larger message than it actually does. It reads as unfinished. An idea. A rough sketch with a bad vibe that you immediately want to wash your hands of.
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Violence
Minor: Xenophobia
hannahmacd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Self harm and Sexual content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Drug use, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
tabitha_thorns's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
Minor: Sexual assault
ru_th's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia
josiee's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ciwanski's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Disturbing, realistic, almost anticlimactic. A good commentary on how exposure to bad/uncomfortable/hateful things can desensitize, inundate, and indoctrinate us.
Check trigger warnings
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
lily_peach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Antisemitism
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug use, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and War
sararead's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Antisemitism, Stalking, and Alcohol