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nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.75
Graphic: Death and Car accident
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
anniereads221's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
nicnevin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Confinement, Slavery, Torture, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Physical abuse, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Rape, Murder, Abandonment, War, and Classism
allisonwonderlandreads'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? No
4.0
Ropa is a no-nonsense protagonist who could take a starring role in the argument for why you should take 14-year-olds very seriously indeed. She's self-assured, the main breadwinner for her family, and has a tough exterior protecting a heart of gold. She loves to learn, and her unmastered magical abilities are just out of reach. One of my favorite aspects of the book is how strongly her voice comes through in terms of the language and tone chosen by the author. Ropa has a quick, dry sense of observational humor, and she doesn't waste energy skirting around the truth as she sees it. I also loved her friendships and her relationships with her grandmother and younger sister. They provide a positive and supportive foundation as Ropa's detective work gets increasingly dangerous and complicated.
The plot wasn't particularly surprising on the mystery front, but Ropa's detective work led her through so many strange magical situations and action-packed scenes that I didn't mind. I'm delighted that this is just the beginning of a series because I can't wait to see how Ropa grows, how the deepening intrigue is resolved, and how her relationships evolve. The dystopian world-building is also still incomplete, so I am curious to know more about this near future world and the series of atrocities and bad decisions that got us there. This book has so much heart, and I definitely recommend it.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Slavery, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, and Gaslighting
emily_journals'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
4.0
The ghost system (is that a thing?) in this book was pretty cool, I loved the way all of the ghosts and the ways of communicating with the ghosts was conveyed and constructed, I found it to be fun and unique. Also, the magic system was interesting, I really like the combination between the old/traditional magic methods and the newer magic methods throughout the book. Additionally, I really loved the characters in this book. They felt so multi-dimensional and realistic. None of the characters was 100% good, but none was 100% bad either, they all had differing motivations and characterization.
Onto the negative points, there is a random storyline in the middle that doesn't really seem to fit into the rest of the book (if you've read the book, you know what I'm talking about).
I think the point of it was to add to the magic system and assist with some of the world building, but it felt pretty out of place. Other point, the ending was pretty abrupt. When I first read (or listened, rather) to this book, I was like "did my audiobook pause? did my headphones stop working?" and then I checked my phone and was like "oh wow, it's over??". It can be explained by the fact that this book is part of a series, but I still think there could have been a little more of a conclusion/winddown.
Overall, this book was really enjoyable and I REALLY loved the magic system and world that was built, so I will definitely be continuing on with this series.
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent and Classism
Minor: Violence and Grief