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emily_dunn'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, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Police brutality, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, and Colonisation
clarkg'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Alcohol
uranaishi'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
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Excrement, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
kaiyakaiyo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
this book was very inventive and the prose was very nice, but frankly at least 50 pages could be shaved off. the pacing was strange and in general la valle shoved far too many separate stories into this book. what started as whimsical and fresh ended up feeling random and cobbled together
Apollo’s story was interesting, but the parts about his father and the truth of what happened to him felt like a completely separate book. he could easily have just been a deadbeat that never showed up, and the dreams added absolutely nothing to the story. the blurb on the back of the book makes the father dreams seem related to the plot, but they aren’t at all. going in with that expectation may be why I was so annoyed when they turned out to be entirely unmagical. the mom randomly revealing this truth after he gets home from jail made 0 sense? why not when he had his baby? why not right after baby Brian died? it felt shoehorned in. same with Emma’s crazy ass family history. Kim’s confession was so out of place.
The technological aspect of this book felt so stilted next to the island, the trolls, etc. there were just way too many strands to follow and far too neat of a wrap up when so much happened in this book. an entire island of witches and a monster and then a … 4chan guy? and said 4chan guy is descended from Norwegian guy who fed his baby to a troll? and now the troll lives in Queens? And the 4chan guy charges people to watch the troll eat kids????? it started to feel like the author got the sub-plots from an online random prompt generator
instead of the parts above, I would’ve liked more time in Emma’s head. how did she feel being called crazy for something she knew was happening? how did she become “a witch”? how did she survive in the woods with the troll there? why did she attack Apollo to kill the changeling instead of just knocking him out to do it? what was she planning to do with the troll if Apollo hadn’t come? how did the island start? some things felt unexplored, while others (like Apollos dad) were overexplained.
that being said, i can’t say I didn’t enjoy this read! the first 200 pages were a treat, and even when things took a turn for the absurd, i still liked reading it despite the confusion. la valle’s prose and narrative voice are lovely, I think the plotting and pacing was just a huge bust for me. I’d like to try more of his work, because there was some real shine here amongst the confusion
Graphic: Blood, Vomit, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
thehmkane'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: Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexism, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment