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sarahelyse's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Gaslighting
Minor: Xenophobia, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
kds247's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
alexashines's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
abbysingh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Hate crime
_kaylinconn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.25
The talk of identity and finding ourselves is reflected beautifully in both Abitha and Samson.
The reason this gets a lower rating is primarily because I didn’t feel particularly attached to the characters. They all felt like not good people, but not in the fun way. Samson was the most compelling, but he lost me at the end. I did like Abitha, but I didn’t feel connected to her.
Honestly, my favorite character was Forest and I was sad he didn’t live to see the world he wanted.
I also am not a fun of vigilante justice that involves torture. I understand why Abitha wishes to punish certain members of the village, and I understand wanting the deaths to be violent. But torture is never something I enjoy reading, and even in vigilante justice, I never find it excusable. Though I know there are people who do horrible things, I just can’t imagine truly torturing another human. And it made me dislike the characters in an irredeemable way. I can understand and still like a character who kills, but torture is too much for me.
I also am aware this is a me issue! It does not make the book bad for having it, it just makes it something I don’t like.
That being said, I thought this had a lot of beautiful moments in it. RIP Forest, I loved him even though he was a turd
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
jully_bean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Genocide, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Colonisation
Minor: Domestic abuse, Racism, Police brutality, Trafficking, and Alcohol
bluestar_apologist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
kwthor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Racial slurs
devinjai6655's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
stephanieanneauthor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Brom's writing style is beautiful, and I felt just about every emotion over the course of this dark tale. And given the multitudes of dualities - man vs nature, woman vs man, pagan vs christian, etc - I wouldn't be surprised if I got more out of a second reading. This might just have to be something I re-read in the future.
Overall, the story reminds me of that meme that's something along the lines of: my favourite horror movie genre is "good for her". I cheered Abitha's every success and felt my heart ache for her with every failure. Good for her!
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, and Grief