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charcha01'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
4.0
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Genocide, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia
dweeks417'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? No
4.5
Anequs is a kind, wise, and brave woman, but she didn't develop very much as a character. She remains pretty static throughout the book and never really makes any mistakes, which made her less interesting. All the other characters - including Theod, Karina, Aponakwe, etc - have moments where they realize they were wrong and make amends, or when they face consequences. Anequs doesn't have that growth because she is apparently infallible. 🤷‍♀️ I was also a little disappointed in the lack of exploration of Anequs and Kasaqua's relationship. We don't spend a lot of time with them just together.
Overall, this is a really solid steampunk fantasy, and I'll read the rest of the series when it comes out.
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Lesbophobia, and War
nina_rae_131's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Sexism, and Lesbophobia
Minor: War
lpdx'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
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Xenophobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Death, Genocide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, and War
Minor: Confinement, Transphobia, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
znvisser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
In a way this is all fine - it probably made it all relatively easy to follow and helps laying ground for plot, but it also made all of it… quite unsurprising, at some time close to uninteresting? There was little friction, struggle or mystery, and it all just floats on (sometime there is drama over nothing and then it turns out to be… nothing indeed); it made me wish for accelerated plot development but we just kept learning new Anglish words for known concepts (I really would have preferred a glossary over the pronunciation guide). Maybe I’m just looking for more complexity than what YA is for; and these characters sure didn’t provide that, suffering from being either flat or incoherent.
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Murder, War, and Classism
Minor: Bullying, Homophobia, Death of parent, and Lesbophobia
nboyd31's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Genocide, Misogyny, Racism, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Blood and War
Minor: Biphobia, Transphobia, and Lesbophobia
kwthor'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
4.0
Moderate: Ableism, Bullying, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Grief, Lesbophobia, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
nofrigatelikeabook'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
5.0
Wonderful characters!
Moderate: Ableism, Genocide, Racism, and War
Minor: Hate crime, Homophobia, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
jainabee'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? No
5.0
So much happens so quickly in this first installment of the series that I missed a few important details which deepen the characters—such as the look that Frau Kuiper gives Anaqus right before her skiltakraft final. The look that Anequs cannot interpret in the moment. I think I know what it means now, but it took three reads! The complicated social and political layers of this story are profound—and quite relevant to contemporary issues.
Another aspect that took me this long to get (I am white from a colonizer heritage and this tale is told from an Indigenous POV—there’s probably a LOT MORE that I don’t get) is the stylized language throughout the book. Though most of the places and objects in the book are all places and objects that would be familiar to most contemporary readers, they all have abstracted names; English is Anglish, a penny is a pennik, a photographer is a lichtbildmacher, radium is strahlendstone, etc… why all of this confusing terminology??? Other than sustaining the tone of the alternate reality, it also puts a reader who has been educated in a typical American school in the same confusing position as the Indigenous protagonist. The words and customs that the colonizers all take for granted are almost as baffling to the reader as they are to Anequs. If the author had simply used words any typical American would understand, the reader would not be able to empathize with the confusion and frustrations and other obstacles that Anequs must move through.
The final layer I that understood more this time I wrapped in spoiler alerts in the content warning section.
I can barely wait for the next installment!
Graphic: Racism, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Genocide, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Medical content, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
relin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Hate crime, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Transphobia, Violence, Murder, Lesbophobia, and War