Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - O Caledonia

This coming of age tale is really dark, but it's reflective. I wish the author hadn't spoiled that the main character is dead in the first few pages as I think it took away from the surprise at the end when you learn of the truth behind the murder mystery.
That being said, the prose was so beautiful. This was excellently written out, scenery and Janet' character and her inner monologues were spelled out perfectly in feeling and in words. I wish the plot had more to it, but it does follow a person's life, which doesn't give room to be creative. It was very linear storytelling, very static, and I think that's what threw me off personally. The ending and moral of this story is dark, but it does make me think and wonder of the existence and societal responsibilities placed on children, especially the eldest. Very tragic tale, not too enjoyable and lighthearted, but thought provoking.

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feelinwitchy's review against another edition

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emotional reflective relaxing slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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abbyeck's review

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dark mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

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samwescott's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

Beautiful, moody, and weird. Not much happens plot wise and what does happen goes largely unexplained in very conspicuous and weird ways. It's a quirky novel about a sympathetic, idiosyncratic main character with extremely beautiful writing. I do recommend it, but go in expecting more of an experience than a linear story.

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emilo's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional reflective 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

4.5

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eatenbywaffles's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

For being a short book, it took me a while to get thru it. It started off fine, but it took me a few pages to get use to the author's writing style. Elspeth Barker's writing is beautiful imo! The way she describes a scene/mood is so smooth(?? I'm having trouble conveying what I mean haha ^^; ). Maybe lyrical? Graceful? Idk, but I loved it once I settled into the story.

The main character, Janet, was interesting...
I sympathized with her, but she was a bit cringey and I could understand why she didn't have any friends. But I also felt a kinship with her because I get it. She just wanted to be left alone to read and hangout with her animal friends, and daydream about how she wanted her life to be. She seemed like a regular kid/teenage girl. Her family kind of did suck too, which is why she was also crappy at times lol. But idk, I liked her for the most part!

We start off knowing she's going to die young, which sort of gave me the lingering feeling of having a dark cloud over me while I read.

ESPECIALLY when we get to Janet's and Claws' relationship! I cried man, I felt so bad for Claws, even now while I type this out Q_Q

Overall, a good book that is well-written!

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waybeyondblue's review against another edition

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dark funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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rach22's review

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challenging dark slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

It was definitely well written. I don’t really know what to think. It was very slow moving and I couldn’t help but like and sympathise with Janet even though she wasn’t the best person. It was sad but quite funny in parts. I felt I could relate to it in parts and it made me think. I also felt very sad for Lila.

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