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finnm4's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Genocide, Racism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, War, and Classism
Minor: Infertility, Miscarriage, and Abortion
well_read_unicorn'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Genocide, Hate crime, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, and Colonisation
Moderate: Death
Minor: Rape and Antisemitism
my_a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Genocide, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
katiewhocanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Graphic: Xenophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Genocide, and Rape
amaezinggeorge'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Genocide, Racism, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Colonisation, and War
Moderate: Rape
andrea_gagne's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Moderate: Genocide, Sexual assault, and Violence
my_plant_library's review
- 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: Genocide, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Sexism
liesbethvv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I enjoyed the narrative trick of each of the girls and their teachers representing a different fraction of the historically built conflict and learning about Rwandan history without it taking the center stage. The characters could have some more depth though, I would have loved a longer book or less characters.
Graphic: Genocide, Racism, Rape, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Sexism and Violence
Minor: Miscarriage, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, and Toxic friendship
curatoriallyyours'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Infertility, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Colonisation
serendipitysbooks's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
The boarding school setting provides a degree of insularity, while the remote mountain location provides isolation which is compounded in the rainy season. These both contribute to the ominous tone which pervades the novel and is appropriate for its dark subject matter.
I thought the characterisation, especially of the girls, was well done. The girls were all very distinct vibrant characters, not flat stereotypes. And I couldn’t help but be frustrated and infuriated by all the adults who let them down. They had parents who are obviously spouted discriminatory and hateful rhetoric, which the girls internalised and repeated. The schools’s priest was a sexual pervert, a nun attempted to shame them about their bodies. This is only the tip of the iceberg and much of it links back to colonialism. Race, class and gender all intersect and even if the civil war and genocide has been avoided most young women, like those portrayed here, would be presented from fulfilling their potential. Yet they did occur and this book gives insight into how and why.
All in all a thought-provoking story which demonstrates on a small-scale how large scale atrocities can occur.
Graphic: Genocide and Sexual assault