astropova's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Really interesting magic system!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Death, Violence, and Animal death
Moderate: Blood, Sexism, and Hate crime
Minor: Slavery, Homophobia, and Genocide
professor_jango's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Classism, Genocide, Slavery, Xenophobia, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Animal death, Violence, Blood, Grief, Hate crime, Sexism, Body horror, and Homophobia
tigger89's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Justina Ireland has done it again. As in her previous series, the world building is top-notch, with constant references to real-world events encountered through the lens of her own alternate history. For example, the Great Rust stood in for the events immediately preceding and concurrent with our own Great Depression. While obviously nothing quite so magical had happened in our own world, the impact on the economy and mental state of the country was similar. Some of the references were jarring. For example, when I neared the end and a character described having seen a tree with "strange fruit" hanging, I stopped reading for a second and said, oh no. It was most definitely a Billie Holiday reference, and the author did not pull punches with the eventual depiction of said tree.
The magic system was interesting as well, though I feel that the theme has been done before in YA. Maybe that wasn't what the author was going for, but it was unclear, because most of the characters spent the majority of the book barely able to use their magic. We hardly got to see anyone other than our main character ravel! I would've liked to explore deeper, especially at the intersections between types of magic.
I enjoyed the way the story was told, alternating traditional chapters with fragments of mission reports, diary entries, and so on. The scrapbook pages, however, did not work for me. They were very interesting photos, and I can see why they were inspiring for the author, but they felt shoehorned in. I've seen this gimmick used before to better effect(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children(the first one) immediately comes to mind), so it overall fell flat for me. I think I might have appreciated it more presented as an appendix of sorts, rather than integrated with the story.
I was appreciative of the casual queerness in this book. The main character is sapphic, but doesn't have a romantic side plot, she just is that way even though it "doesn't matter" to the story. This is something you'll sometimes see with straight characters but it's more rare for queer characters, especially in YA. There's also two secondary characters who are gay men in a relationship together.
The magic system was interesting as well, though I feel that the
Spoiler
"cool protagonist kids can use every power, unlike the boring people who only use one type of magic"I enjoyed the way the story was told, alternating traditional chapters with fragments of mission reports, diary entries, and so on. The scrapbook pages, however, did not work for me. They were very interesting photos, and I can see why they were inspiring for the author, but they felt shoehorned in. I've seen this gimmick used before to better effect(Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children(the first one) immediately comes to mind), so it overall fell flat for me. I think I might have appreciated it more presented as an appendix of sorts, rather than integrated with the story.
I was appreciative of the casual queerness in this book. The main character is sapphic, but doesn't have a romantic side plot, she just is that way even though it "doesn't matter" to the story. This is something you'll sometimes see with straight characters but it's more rare for queer characters, especially in YA. There's also two secondary characters who are gay men in a relationship together.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism
Moderate: Genocide, Colonisation, Animal death, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia and Slavery
purplepenning's review
adventurous
hopeful
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
I'm in awe of the intelligence and organized creativity here! It's an alt-history fantasy with mystery and horror elements in service to a story about exploitation, industrialization, strength, community, and social justice. Very cool magical system based on West African and Caribbean traditions, clever magical interpretation of mechanization and industrialization, great use of historical organization and political structures, well-drawn characters that feel true to the time but relevantly contemporary, plus there be dragons!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror and Racism
Moderate: Racial slurs, Vomit, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Animal cruelty, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, and Gore
Minor: Genocide, Cursing, and Slavery
More...