Scan barcode
lani03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Animal cruelty
moonbloomandgrow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Islamophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
readbykrispy'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? No
3.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting
amanda_reads89'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Police brutality, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
arnoles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Murder, and Gaslighting
Minor: Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Suicide, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, and Death of parent
itsredandread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
rosietomyn'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Infertility, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
burnedstory'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
5.0
If "I support women's rights and women's wrongs" could be a book this very well might be it.
Graphic: Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Murder, and Gaslighting
volunteerpyromancer'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
4.0
Compelling women and frenemies create an enthralling reading experience.
The only drawback to this book was there were times when it could be heavy handed.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, and Pedophilia
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I thought the subject matter was handled very well. The author addresses intersectionality, female oppression, rape culture, and domestic violence and its associated trauma with definite care. Over the past several years I’ve grown extremely critical of media that uses the abuse of women as some sort of plot device to push the narrative along, but then just sort of forgotten a little later when it stopped being useful to the plot. I never felt like that was happening in this book. Any instance of abuse that was discussed or depicted did not just get set aside or ignored completely once the next action was set in motion. It lingered and it was present throughout the rest of the story and it mattered to the character development. It lended a lot of the necessary seriousness to these situations despite the humor that the author included throughout the book. And it was difficult to read in some places, yet not exploitative or voyeuristic.
I was very impressed with how the author wrote from the main character’s point of view, too. Geeta wasn’t the most pleasant protagonist, yet I was rooting for her the whole time. Even in moments when she was really unlikable, the sort of exasperation and irritation I felt didn’t last long. She had very obvious flaws, but I liked seeing which ones she worked out and which just sort of were part of her personality that she had to work around rather than just grow past. It was also very cool how Geeta was unreliable in certain aspects concerning her perception of self and her relationships, but the author made it clear she was reliable regarding the actual plot related events occurring throughout the story. It’s just really good characterization in my opinion.
And on a somewhat more background note, I really appreciated learning more about Indian culture through this book. Some of the Hindi beliefs and the depiction of the caste structure and general portrayal of day to day life in a village like this one, it was all woven in organically without feeling like an infodump that took me out of the narrative. I’m not always great with the classroom sort of learning, all strict informational teaching, but this not only educated me in a lot of things I didn’t know, it did it in a way that I’m more likely to actually remember some of it because it’s been presented in a more real world context. I just find that quite cool.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Murder, Gaslighting, and Classism