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vanesst's review
challenging
tense
fast-paced
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Death of parent, Hate crime, Animal cruelty, Physical abuse, Antisemitism, Child death, Racial slurs, Racism, Xenophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Grief, Medical content, Pregnancy, Self harm, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Police brutality, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Alcohol
gem114's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
I understand what Jodi Picoult was trying to do here, and after reading her author's note, I accept and appreciate her efforts, but I still have a really hard time being fully okay with it. Picoult knows her audience, and I'm hoping some of her repeat readers benefited from reading this book. Hopefully Picoult is the medium they needed to face the issue of racism and do some introspection. Meanwhile, I'm just hanging out over here trying to stomach the number of times she uses the n word and that the skinhead gets a redemption arc. Yes, the story was engaging. Yes, Picoult is a pretty good writer. But yes, it gets super preachy. Overall, I'm feeling kind of meh about it for myself.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Antisemitism, Racism, Medical trauma, Child death, Violence, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Medical content, Homophobia, Classism, Pregnancy, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, and Hate crime
Moderate: Death of parent, Mental illness, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide
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