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kastix'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Pregnancy and Colonisation
maresuju'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
unsweetener's review against another edition
4.5
As is the way with these sorts of stories, El has innate power that exceeds most of her surviving peers. Unfortunately, her innate power is shockingly destructive, but her hippie mom went all in on nurture over nature, so El is constantly circumventing her aptitude for mass death.
I really enjoyed this book! It compares favorably to the obvious YA corollaries (Harry Potter, even Fourth Wing more recently). It's definitely grittier, and there's a clear theme of class inequality, and El really grows as she forms relationships. It was a solid beach read and I'm looking forward to finishing the trilogy.
Graphic: Child death
lirio_dendron'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
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent and Murder
Minor: Vomit and Grief
purplepickle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Vomit, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Pregnancy
jayknowsit'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
3.75
Minor: Animal death, Child death, Death, and Death of parent
littlestdread'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
5.0
Minor: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pandemonicbaby'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gore, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Cursing, Racism, Vomit, and Pregnancy
blewballoon'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? Yes
4.0
This book is quite exposition heavy, but the exposition is in the main character's voice so you get a bit of flavor of their personality along with the info dumps. Sometimes it felt like the story would come to a halt for some fairly irrelevant exposition, while other times the story would plunge along and I felt like I didn't have context to fully understand what was happening. It's a bit of an exhausting story because the Scholomance is such an exhausting place to live. There are monsters, school rules, and complex social hierarchies that make every action and every conversation loaded with potential repercussions, and all of those things constantly need explaining.
All that being said, I did enjoy this book. The main character was a lot more likable than I expected from the blurb, and there were some interesting supporting characters as well. As a character driven reader, these characters worked for me and carried me through the book. I am not sure if I will pick up the rest of the series or not, though.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gore, and Murder
Minor: Death of parent
alyssaakdefusco'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? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Gore and Violence
Moderate: Child death and Vomit