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stellahadz'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
The writing was engaging, even though I'm a little older than the target demographic and I'm not usually a big magical realism reader. Some parts were very cringey, (but it's about a teenager, so that's to be expected), some were genuinely very funny, and others were heartbreaking. The pacing wasn't quite to my taste, but then again, it's part of a series, so maybe it makes more sense in that context. Eden Robinson is a great writer and I'd honestly recommend anything of hers. I look forward to seeing what my students think of this book.
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Moderate: Bullying, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Biphobia, Vomit, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
marlephant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Vomit, and Cannibalism
the_wistful_word_witch's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Poor Jared's life is all kinds of fucked up, thanks to his parents - the biological and the non-biological - and the world around him - the physical and the metaphysical. Jared's too young to be so jaded and dealing with all the shit he's dealing with in this first book.
His world gets shattered in more ways than one, but there seems to be a big change coming by the end, hopefully for the better in the next two books. But since he's the son of a Trickster, that might not be so easy, if it's even possible...
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Gore, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cancer
parasolcrafter'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
2.5
this book up until the last 7 or so chapters is just...a bunch of NOTHING happening aside from partying and drinking and drugs and horrible parenting and bad decisions on behalf of almost all the characters, and then its like everything starts happening simultaneously and none of it makes much sense at first because theres wasnt a gradual lead up of like...anything??? or, there was a lead up but it was so fukcing convoluted that it just ended up making things much more confusing. the hints that are dropped need hints to help understand them, i swear. the writing also isnt the best either. there are pockets of really good writing (i feel like the few snippets of poetry were really good, i would have liked more!!!) but for the most point its just kind of boring. and i guess its alright because this book is the first in a trilogy and it did sent things okay for more books, but just as the book is itself its definitely nothing special.
oh also i hated all the sexual scenes between the teens in this book. i dont wanna be reading about that!!!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Incest
atlas_reads's review
- 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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment
bibliomania_express's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Physical abuse, Self harm, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death and Suicide attempt
maregred's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Dementia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
Minor: Addiction, Homophobia, Incest, Racism, Stalking, and Pregnancy
doomdodo's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
Some may believe this is a young adult book but it is not! It deals with graphic adult content and the writing is challenging to follow.samants'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
3.75
I don't normally put content warnings, but this book has a lot of very graphic content, so I'm including a bunch of content warnings.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail