lillireenan's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
mikaelakosich's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
katsreads's review against another edition
4.0
i am so sad :( that one plotline did make me a bit uncomfortable but it also wasn’t focused on enough to bother me too too much. i do wish that there had been more of vivek in the last ~20 pages throughout the book, that reveal didn’t need to be so late in the book. i wanted to see him happy too :(
fenna_kwakernaak's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
hfarman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.0
clairebartholomew549's review against another edition
5.0
Wow. This book was absolutely gorgeous, and I savored every minute of it. What a beautifully nuanced portrayal of what it means to be gender fluid and to struggle with gender dysphoria, how terrified it can make you because you're not sure your family will understand or accept you, how your friends can struggle to understand but still love you anyway and help you be yourself, how society can be bruising and ugly toward you. How it's worth it to try to be yourself no matter what because of the peace it can give you. I found myself lingering over every word, struck by every page where Emezi depicts the different forms of love and how toxic some of them can be, how freeing some of them can be. The ways Emezi challenged heteronormativity and our preconceived notions of how to be in a relationship or love one another really resonated with me. I also loved learning so much about Nigeria and immersing myself in this rich world; I especially enjoyed Emezi's depictions of the Nigerwives who left their own countries and homes to be with their husbands, how they found support and grounding in each other in a foreign place. Overall, a book that will stay with me for a long time.
ms_sarah621's review against another edition
Dnf @ 131 I wanted to enjoy this. However, the negatives started to outweigh the positives for me.
Positives: This seems like an amazing exploration of sexuality and gender. It larger comes from the perspective of other people and conversations they have with Vivek. We rarely hear Vivek’s perspective, which was compelling to me. Also, it takes place in a different country/culture than my own. There are many different customs, beliefs, and expressions. It shows the struggle of lgbtq+ people in a less accepting setting, truly displaying the challenges of exploring and being comfortable with oneself.
Negatives: The largest factor was that the main relationship is incest. I was really hoping that I was getting the wrong vibes, and it wouldn’t turn out to be incest, but it did. This made it much more uncomfortable for me to continue reading. This book is also very sexual, describing different sexual experiences throughout. (This is more of a preference issue with me) I understand how it could be necessary and was willing to look past it, but it was just much more sexual than I could handle. It was especially difficult when the sexual scenes were between cousins. Lastly, what is going on with Vivek’s blackouts? Even though I dnf’d the book, I skimmed it to try and have an understanding of what I would miss. I never saw any more descriptions or answers to Vivek’s blacking out episodes, which was a main intrigue point for me in the beginning.
Overall, this author is doing important work. Writing important stories that are complex, boundary pushing, and important subject matter. However, I became less and less interested as things were being built up. I just ended up becoming too uncomfortable to continue (and not in the good way when it comes to books). I still want to try out Pet from this author, but this book just wasn’t it for me.
Positives: This seems like an amazing exploration of sexuality and gender. It larger comes from the perspective of other people and conversations they have with Vivek. We rarely hear Vivek’s perspective, which was compelling to me. Also, it takes place in a different country/culture than my own. There are many different customs, beliefs, and expressions. It shows the struggle of lgbtq+ people in a less accepting setting, truly displaying the challenges of exploring and being comfortable with oneself.
Negatives: The largest factor was that the main relationship is incest. I was really hoping that I was getting the wrong vibes, and it wouldn’t turn out to be incest, but it did. This made it much more uncomfortable for me to continue reading. This book is also very sexual, describing different sexual experiences throughout. (This is more of a preference issue with me) I understand how it could be necessary and was willing to look past it, but it was just much more sexual than I could handle. It was especially difficult when the sexual scenes were between cousins. Lastly, what is going on with Vivek’s blackouts? Even though I dnf’d the book, I skimmed it to try and have an understanding of what I would miss. I never saw any more descriptions or answers to Vivek’s blacking out episodes, which was a main intrigue point for me in the beginning.
Overall, this author is doing important work. Writing important stories that are complex, boundary pushing, and important subject matter. However, I became less and less interested as things were being built up. I just ended up becoming too uncomfortable to continue (and not in the good way when it comes to books). I still want to try out Pet from this author, but this book just wasn’t it for me.
lilivdw's review
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Death
Moderate: Incest and Violence
Minor: Transphobia
selilabude's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
emontenegro18's review against another edition
3.0
***3.5 stars
Okay I think I wasn’t fully in the right headspace to pick up this book, which is partially influencing my rating. The writing is lovely but sharp, the characters are incredibly unique, and it’s a simple but complicated plot. But in the end, there’s just so much homophobia and violence and cousin love??? that it wasn’t it for me. I’m not pretending these things don’t exist (except maybe the cousin love - really did they HAVE to be cousins??), but I was a little bummed when I realized where we were headed.
Okay I think I wasn’t fully in the right headspace to pick up this book, which is partially influencing my rating. The writing is lovely but sharp, the characters are incredibly unique, and it’s a simple but complicated plot. But in the end, there’s just so much homophobia and violence and cousin love??? that it wasn’t it for me. I’m not pretending these things don’t exist (except maybe the cousin love - really did they HAVE to be cousins??), but I was a little bummed when I realized where we were headed.