The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! đ
jcinf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
I love that it takes the narrative of oppression and twists it into one of empowerment. I love the angle of âchosen familyâ being set in the desert, segregated from society both by choice and by necessity. I love the idea of âoutlawsâ and âoutcastsâ being one in the same. Because outcasts are viewed as outlaws â as scapegoats to make them criminals.Â
The characters are easy to love. The book is the perfect length.Â
I love the subtle inclusion of queer characters. From trans to gay to bisexual. And yet this is mentioned without it being a big deal. There are no big moments of âcoming out.â Itâs just matter-of-fact.Â
I give books 5 stars based on how memorable it is for me. So time will tell if I come back and change my rating to a 5.Â
Graphic: Blood, Infertility, Racism, Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Sexism, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Murder
chasingpages1'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
3.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Blood, Mental illness, Abandonment, Gore, Grief, Pregnancy, Infertility, Gun violence, Misogyny, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Alcohol, Death, Infidelity, Police brutality, and Racism
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Classism, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Violence, Animal death, Colonisation, Fire/Fire injury, Transphobia, Cancer, Outing, and Gaslighting
moonvest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
This is objectively a good book, but it was just more yucky than what I can handle right now. I was promised âlesbian cowboysâ but itâs largely about child death and grief. Which is, you know, a trigger for me.
Youâd probably like it though.
Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Pandemic/Epidemic, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Violence, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abortion, Death, Grief, Incest, and Infertility
Minor: Animal death
aubreystrawberry'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Homophobia, and Infertility
Moderate: Medical content, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Abortion, Blood, Mental illness, and Miscarriage
Minor: Animal death, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Grief
kayschwe's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Infertility, Blood, Murder, Gore, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Death, Pregnancy, Abortion, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, Medical content, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Racism, Suicide attempt, and Excrement
lovejasmine'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? No
2.0
Instead, we got the barest hint of that, with a very self centred, very white narrator that was, honestly, kind of boring.
The worst thing about this book was it wasn't bad. It just could have been incredible.
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gun violence, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Incest, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Sexual assault, Abortion, Blood, Sexual harassment, Slavery, Violence, Sexual violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Animal death, and Chronic illness
wizardingwisteria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
The world in combination with the writing style and plot made this such an enjoyable read for me. At first the writing style seemed meandering and slow, but as the story began to pick up I started to appreciate Ada's perspective a lot more. The plot kept me entertained from start to finish. I loved seeing the gang execute their plans in such an organized fashion. It reminded me so much of Red Dead Redemption with the leader of the gang, the Kid, giving me flash backs to Dutch van der Linde at some points
Loved all of the representation in this book, but it could have been improved. The main character is cis and hetero but almost every member of the gang is gay and/or non-binary. There is a moment where one gang member asks Ada if she likes men and Ada considers the fact that she never saw women as an option for her. She basically shrugs and thinks to herself "maybe I like women, idk, haven't tried." Beyond that thought Ada doesn't attempt to explore her own sexuality further. I think that was a missed opportunity
A lot of the characters felt underdeveloped. Even though this book is on the shorter side, I found myself wishing that the author took more time to make the characters, the gang members specifically, more complex instead of giving them a paragraph or two of backstory and then putting them on the shelf. Ada's love interest ended up feeling flat as well which made their relationship more difficult to believe
Despite it's issues, I could see myself re-reading this in the future
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Infertility, Animal death, Grief, Miscarriage, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Pandemic/Epidemic
hope_gabrielle_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Pregnancy
Moderate: Infertility and Abortion
Minor: Grief, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Racism, Death, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Violence, Miscarriage, Self harm, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Mental illness, and Medical trauma
jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Death, Infertility, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Racism, Sexism, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Outing, Infidelity, Body horror, Gun violence, Mental illness, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Grief, and Blood
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Incest, and Abortion
jules44'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? It's complicated
3.5
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Lesbophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Infertility, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexism, and Sexual harassment