The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! š
ru_bunny'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
4.75
Graphic: Antisemitism, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Miscarriage, Child abuse, and Child death
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
elzibub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Sexism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Violence, and Homophobia
readwithde'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
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, and Misogyny
Moderate: Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Violence, Blood, Classism, Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, and War
Minor: Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Gore, and Confinement
maeverose's review against another edition
3.0
Gratuitous violence. Mostly from Wendy and Steponās povs, where they had to bring up at every opportunity that their father abused them. It felt like the author was just throwing it in there to keep the book feeling dark and gritty but there was no real purpose to it. We already know from the first few chapters that their father is a despicable human being, it didnāt need to be mentioned repeatedly every single time it switched to one of their povs.
The multiple povs. I only cared about Miryemās and Irinaās a little bit towards the second half of the book. However I wouldnāt say the others were unnecessary (well, Magretaās maybe) or couldnāt be interesting to other readers. I felt that it was usually pretty clear whoās pov it was right away, but the book does switch povs multiple times in every chapter, so it could get annoying.
Bad autism rep? I wanted to talk about one of the perspectives in particular: Wandaās younger brother Stepon. His narrative voice is especially different from the others and I canāt tell if itās just supposed to be that heās young, abused and had a very isolated upbringing, or if heās autistic coded. He has sensory issues with noise too, which could be a trauma response from his abuse, Iām not sure, but it felt like an attempt at a very stereotypical representation of autism, and if it was I donāt like that. Itās a very narrow minded interpretation of autism, not to mention it was just so tedious to read.
Itās overwritten. It definitely couldāve (shouldāve, imo) been at least 100 pages shorter. Maybe its just because I wasnāt enjoying it that much but it felt like a drag to get through. I was bored for a lot of it.
The writing. Her style just doesnāt work for me. I liked the winter descriptions, and the folktale style of it, but I found certain sentences to be worded awkwardly to where Iād have to read them multiple times to get what she meant. It was the same with Uprooted for me. Like sheās trying to make it sound pretty but itās just awkward to read. Could just be me. I did find some sentences that were actually grammatically incorrect thoughā¦
Homophobic?? This one was easy to miss, but the only - very minor side character - thatās gay has a crush on his own cousin. I feel like I donāt need to explain how thatās problematic.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Vomit, Child abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Alcohol, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Antisemitism, Blood, Death of parent, Alcoholism, Body horror, Rape, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Classism, Incest, and Miscarriage
Graphic: Eye trauma Moderate: mentioned child rapenaomi_k'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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Physical abuse, Violence, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Misogyny, Confinement, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cursing, Classism, Animal death, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
kaziaroo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Blood, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Animal death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexism
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
jennifer_bush_73'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? No
3.0
This was a good story, and, overall, I liked it. It was more fairytale than fantasy. But the poor grammar and mechanics were a distraction from story. The story got bogged down in too much detail. A good editor could have made the story more readable by cutting the redundant details and correcting the grammar errors.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Death of parent, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Murder, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Rape, Domestic abuse, Genocide, and Murder
Fantasyapworden's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Antisemitism, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
a_new_elisabeth'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? No
4.5
No, it's actually because the logic and writing style are not entirely 5 stars, but that name thing is slightly irritating.Ā
Moderate: Child abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child death
spinesinaline'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? Yes
4.0
I had nothing to go on when starting this book but I assumed itād be some kind of fairytale retelling. While it is a retelling of sorts, the main fairytale it draws from is Rumpelstiltskin, it felt wholly inventive and new. There are elements of Snow White, Hansel and Gretel, and Red Riding Hood too but they feel more like familiar hints of old fairytales in the face of Novikās creative world.
The story is presented through alternating 3rd-person POVs. Initially the main character is Miryem, the Jewish daughter of a moneylender who constantly deals with the antisemitism, thinly veiled or outright, from her village. I really enjoyed having a Jewish character in the centre of a fairytale and the descriptions of family life and celebrations, though her and her family face a lot of attacks and threats because of their faith. As the story progresses, we also get the perspectives of Wanda, a farmerās daughter living in poverty, and Irina, the daughter of a duke dealing with the threat of the tsar.
It feels like a girl-power book without being explicit about it and I loved getting to see these girls find ways to take control of their situations ā whether thatās with their knowledge of family, negotiations, or the courts. Each girl has her own strengths and while they arenāt always knowingly working together, as their stories converge later on, each of their contributions are needed in battling their common foes. I found it a little odd that in the second half of the book we got even more perspectives from side characters as it felt awkward and sudden, but it did make sense in a narrative way that weād still want to follow those storylines. I wouldāve preferred to have ended with the 3 MCsā perspectives though, because our last looks at some of them were presented through a side characterās eyes and it felt very detached.
This is a YA so perhaps itās to be expected that there will be romance but I felt iffy about it, especially as the relationships are formed out of very manipulative and emotionally (and at times physically) abusive situations. Itās not a major part of the book but a big warning for toxic relationships here. I would recommend looking up content warnings if youāre hesitant before reading this book as thereās quite a lot of violence.
Graphic: Antisemitism, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Blood, Child death, Death, Miscarriage, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Rape, and Vomit