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maladaptivebookdreaming's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I was a little thrown off by her love interest being white, but after reading I realize that in the context of this novel it makes sense. This story although with its horrible twists and turns serves an important purpose: breaking the pattern set up but colonization and historical racism. What starts as a melancholy narration of Sydney’s neighborhood ends with a message of hope and poetic justice. Would definitely recommend to anyone interested!
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Kidnapping, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Violence, and Death of parent
yourbookishbff'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
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Classism
legs_n_chins's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I think this was a very well done mystery-thriller. It kept up a good pace, rolling out all the information steadily without leaving me hanging or feeling like too much was dumped at once all of a sudden. It wasn’t exactly about trying to figure out the answer so much as how everything was connected and what exactly was happening, and I think the author did a good job with that. We know from the start there’s something sinister, but I liked how she gave it more depth and clarity as the story progressed. I liked the characters, though Theo felt a little less explored (and a little more fantastical - some suspension of disbelief required on my part, I felt) than Sydney, and I think even the side characters were really written well and given a lot of thought and care. The story itself was compelling and very freaky, especially with the interplay of the real lived experiences of black people in America. I also really liked the real pieces of history the author worked in, I thought that was very cool.
While I think it’s a very solid story with a good wrap up, I did feel that the final quarter of the book was a bit weaker. I felt like there were a few too many “gotcha” scenes that were tense for all of a few pages before smoothing out very quickly. I get why they happened, to help finish explaining things or tie a couple final events together, but they took me out of it a little because it felt like artificial tension made up just for an extra jolt in the last few scenes. A couple stylistic choices in the writing also didn’t always work for me, but I think that’s down to preference. Some word choices or phrasing took me out for a sentence or two, but very easily looked past as the writing style was overall very good and engaging.
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, and Police brutality
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Alcohol
clarkg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Colonisation
Minor: Infidelity and Fire/Fire injury
mdavis26's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
snd1101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Murder, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Moderate: Infidelity, Slavery, and Death of parent
Minor: Forced institutionalization
barefootbetsy'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
The history was fascinating and I have a new appreciation for how difficult (and horrifying) living with the remnants (and current iterations) of slavery and redlining and stolen land must be 😞
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual content, and Excrement
helloiloveyellow'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
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Classism
tillysg1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Racism, Sexual content, and Police brutality
Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Death, Slavery, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Deportation
One short, but quite graphic sex scene (would be easy to skip if you prefer)jpoe_16's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Racism, and Alcohol
Minor: Gun violence and Forced institutionalization