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cass_lit's review against another edition
1.5
- All the adults suck. Colleen bugged me more than Rich (SO whiny), but god they both sucked. You’re adults. Communicate. Or do something. Anything. We didn’t even get to read about the infidelity for something fun, it got like two mentions. I hated Ridge but god Colleen just leave him. Also, fuck you, Daniel (and that’s coming from an environmentalist).
- The POV switches to Chub felt not super important and random and were kinda just as boring as C & R’s (more understandable for him because he’s five though). Random sister POV there at the end too?
- The “mystery” or conflict doesn’t start until 45-50%. I didn’t even know there was a mystery or that this would be the plot point it became until those reviews during the period I tried to DNF. All the first half did for me was make me hate everyone in this town so… basically nothing.
- An absolutely individual, personal issue: I work in the environmental field; I started this while at a conference with other environmental professionals expecting it to be a fictionalized Silent Spring/Dark Waters (Exposure). I was sorely disappointed.
- Real quote from one of the adults in this story: “fifteen’s old enough to breed her.” Also unnecessary: dog murder.
- The end. Again, I didn’t care about these characters so it didn’t impact me too much emotionally, it just felt traumatic and draining. Writing a sad book doesn’t make you profound.
- Finally, it was Way Too Long. So long. So much of it was dragged out incessantly, but other parts were just completely unnecessary.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, and Violence
Moderate: Animal death and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion
dwager's review against another edition
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Infidelity, Racism, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer, Suicide, and Car accident
prof_pelon'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
4.75
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Terminal illness, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
and_opossum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Racism, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, and Abortion
rivbug27's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Violence, Blood, Medical trauma, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
Minor: Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, and Gaslighting
rozereads'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Miscarriage and Medical content
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Gore, Hate crime, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Abortion
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Physical abuse, and Blood
emily_madcharo'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
3.75
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Miscarriage, Violence, Car accident, Abortion, and Death of parent
davidrb'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
Richly written, with excellent character building, but didn't stick the landing. I really need to highlight the work Davidson puts into writing realistic characters: it's easy to slip into stereotypes and caricature with rural people and their lives, but they feel so human. I don't like most of them, but that's fine. Colleen, Enid, and Daniel stand out as my favorites.
But man, that ending. For a book that's all buildup, that's where it goes? Maybe I'll get it better on a reread.
The main reason I'm withholding a rating is the portrayal of the Yurok characters. I'm non Native myself, so I can't speak to it, but I'll be looking for Native reviewers' thoughts on the story. I liked Daniel personally, but something about the way he was written struck me as off, especially with the modern day climate where water protectors are still fighting his same battle.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol