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jamiejanae_6's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Dysphoria, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
dakotahreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Blood, Grief, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Medical content
razialise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
anj's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Grief
Minor: Confinement and Death of parent
my_weird_bookish_heart'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
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
alex_olive'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
The romance is touching, and its grip kept me invested in the narrative from beginning to end. There was angst, emotion and challenges to the relationship that felt raw and real. But what really struck me were the horrifying, grounding depictions of the war. Winn tugs at the heart strings as she thrusts a cast of supporting characters into an uncertain future. I teared up a few times, and sobbed when I read the final page.
I was close to rating this five stars, but I will admit I struggled with the writing style to begin with. I appreciate Winn takes inspiration from writing of the war era, which was apparent in her prose. But I can also see how this might deter some readers, which is a shame.
Graphic: Violence, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Suicide
cwg's review
WW1-era Britain, private school facing mid-war. Bunch of British school boys sign up and go through hell.
Pleasant prose. Loved reading it. Rendition of war was poignant, not so much focus on the technicalities but the experiences themselves.
Result is that I appreciated the rendered characters. How they quickly come in and out of the narrative can be overwhelming at times, (hard to keep up with names) but it’s fitting in the nature of a war-era narrative. I think it was done well, overall. Even the ones who only get a bit of spotlight I could feel for. There’s a lot of mini-narratives you get to witness from beginning to end, each tale providing another perspective to the war. I felt a great sense of authenticity from it all.
And of course the main characters were great. I wasn’t quite sold on them at first, but quickly turned around as the novel went on. While I felt they didn't feel like real people, they, themselves, felt real---how they moved in this story's changing world reflecting something so...human.
I ended up feeling a lot for these characters. They were wonderful.
I may come back to this novel someday. It was lovely.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, and War
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, and Alcohol
Minor: Child death, Suicide, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Classism
gemloukay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
But their secret love for one another blossoms in the trenches and we’re left wondering whether they’ll survive to discover it for themselves. And if they do, what will happen since homosexuality was still illegal in England at that time?
It’s a stunning debut that made me root for both of the main characters alongside their ever dwindling group of friends. It’s horrifying to hear about life in the trenches and the major battles of the Great War but I realised in reading it that I don’t know much about it despite having family members that died in Gallipoli and the Somme. The numbers of dead is just staggering to think about.
Such a good book, and although it’s never going to be a cheery topic, it leaves you wanting them to survive and be able to celebrate their love for each other after the war has ended.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, and War
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
milliefitz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Alcoholism, Self harm, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, Colonisation, and Classism
marmaladereads'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? No
5.0
This book makes you feel a lot of things. It's filled with love and hope and poetry amid some of the most terrible destruction and gore and the constant drumming of death. Winn manages to strike an incredibly delicate balance of never sugarcoating the brutality, with no character being safe or protected from it, and at the same time giving us just enough of a hopeful undertone that it never feels like trauma porn.
The character development, war accounts, and love story are all masterfully woven throughout. This is definitely a book I'll be coming back to again and again.
I love that Winn found a way for Elly and Gaunt to be together in the end in a way where they didn't have to hide, despite the time period. After all they'd been through, I think they deserved at least that, though I would call their ending bittersweet at best.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Antisemitism, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic