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michaelion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Akwaeke Emezi, the person that you are. You've done it yet again. I can't wait to read all their books. They are truly amazing.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Biphobia, Deadnaming, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Dysphoria
Minor: Confinement, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Vomit, Murder, and Abandonment
filosophicfoton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Incest, Transphobia, Grief, Outing, and Abandonment
Moderate: Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, and Injury/Injury detail
one_womanarmy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Transphobia, Grief, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
stephmcoakley'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
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Outing, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
torturedreadersdept'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: Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Islamophobia, and Pregnancy
ktkeps'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, and Grief
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Xenophobia, Blood, and Abandonment
house_of_hannah'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
3.5
This story mainly follows the point-of-view of Vivek's mother, Kavita. We follow her questions and her grief as she tries to find the truth about her sons death. I found her to be a very real character, and she is the backbone of this book. I do wish we had seen more from Vivek's PoV though. We see his world through the eyes of others, but rarely from his own. Even just one or two more chapters from his PoV would have been perfect.
Reading a book about a culture that detests anything that differs from the norm was heartbreaking. I found myself getting so angry with some of the characters, which is exactly the point. It felt so raw, and knowing that this is what people's lives are in reality is rough.
Unfortunately, I found the "reveal" to be lacking. You see it coming from the very beginning, and it doesn't quite feel like the period at the end of a sentence that I was looking for. However, the last chapter is just perfect, and is a fantastic way to end the story of Vivek Oji. Overall, this is a gorgeous, tragic story, but it just isn't quite for me.
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, and War
Minor: Infertility and Abandonment