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gigglesag98'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Incest, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Vomit, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic
theminnesotawitch'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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Pandemic/Epidemic
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Violence, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Genocide, Pedophilia, Rape, Torture, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Gun violence, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Medical content, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Classism
iridaceae's review
- 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: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Gore, Self harm, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Torture, Vomit, Car accident, and Colonisation
k_wolf'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Toxic relationship, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical trauma, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Torture, Police brutality, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
cindythenerd'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Genocide, Torture, and Death of parent
xoodlebooks'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, and Police brutality
Minor: Confinement, Terminal illness, Torture, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt
booksthatburn'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? It's complicated
5.0
This is technically a story about revolution and toppling a dictator, but at its heart it's a story about two kids and their friends helping each other take down their abuser who's running the country. This series deals with child abuse (including but not limited to incest) where there is a massive power imbalance due to the age gap, mentor/student relationship, and the fact that the abuser is legally in charge of the government. There are many discussions between the previous and current victim where we see the viewpoint of someone who has escaped and never wants to be back there again, and someone who hasn't yet figured out how to leave. Some of my favorite sections were between these two characters, whether or not the particular conversation dealt with the abuse specifically, because it shows an immense amount of care from the author to spend so much time showing these characters trying to process and maybe even heal.
Where THE FEVER KING appeared at first to be a heroic teamup/ensemble story before slowly becoming... not that, THE ELECTRIC HEIR has no pretense that Noam will maintain a normal existence. Its focus from his perspective is entirely on his personal interactions with the antagonist, his mentor/abuser, and his work with the resistance to try and topple that abuser from power. While he is technically going to classes and undergoing training, the mentions of these slices of normality gradually disappear, replaced with the descriptions of the flimsy excuses which are increasingly all he has to offer to his friends. The narrative bends towards his attempts to get back any sort of control in his life, and his sense of powerlessness when every attempt keeps being predicted, foiled, or somehow stymied. In the first book Noam was watching as what he thought might be abuse was happening to someone he was getting to know, here it becomes harder and harder to avoid the notion that he now occupies the same position Dara once did. Speaking of Dara, this time around we get Dara's perspective in alternating chapters with Noam. I love Dara as a narrator, he feels very different from Noam and helps to shake up the sense that Noam is right all the time, since he demonstrably is not but is so resolute that it can be easily to feel like he must be right since he's narrating. The dynamic between Noam and Dara is layered and complex, as Noam is torn between maintaining a pretense of loyalty to his abuser (who is not Dara, to be clear), and the unavoidable notion that he is helping his abuser exert power on others even as he is making moves to get out. It makes explicit the abuse first implied and partially shown in THE FEVER KING, and, just as importantly, discusses how the abuse is not his fault, it's neither his nor Dara's fault.
I found this to be empowering and cathartic without trying to be happy, which was welcome because it left space for things to be bad and then also hope that they could get better, but not pretending that everything is magically fixed when the abuse stops. Dara offers a vision of what Noam could look like with a little time free but still not all the way better yet, while Dara sees some of his past self in Noam and keeps trying to get him out. It's not sugar-coated or joyous, and they'll have a long road ahead when the book is done, but it feels like they have a chance.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, and Genocide
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
CW for ableist language, alcoholism, eating disorders, intergenerational trauma, genocide, emetophobia, alcohol abuse, drug/substance abuse, domestic violence, violence, slut-shaming, victim-blaming, sexual assault, attempted rape, child abuse, abuse, suicide (not depicted), parental death (backstory), death (not depicted).