The switch to part ghost story halfway through the book was really not needed at all in my opinon; I believe the author should have stuck with the ghost story thing all the way through because it was somewhat important to the plot at the end.

I do believe that some of the topics discussed in this book were things that needed to be talked about to reflect on the character's life experiences (that shaped them to be the people they were during the story). Please read warning tags if you're going to read this book, because most trigger warnings listed are extremely graphic and descriptive. This last sentence ties into the fact that I actually felt sick reading the first chapter of the book because of the descriptions (which I won't spoil, nor could I stomach to do that. Read the tags). Overall, it wasn't terrible enough for me to give it a 1. I feel like the author really wanted you to hate everybody except the main character and the younger sister by the end of the book because they were all bad and doing bad things. I really still don't understand what I was supposed to get out of this book. I was hoping to come out of it with some new outlook on life or something like that, no matter how small it was. All I came out of this reading experience with was a hatred for coming-of-age novels.

TLDR; The book wasn't the worst thing I've read, but it's really close to the worst. The story was lacking and the themes throughout it were difficult for me to understand. If you're looking for a good coming-of-age novel, this should not be anywhere near the top of your choices.

Content Warnings

jadeanne's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

I really enjoyed this book. The story was captivating and pays tribute to Toni Morrison's Beloved (which I also thought was genius). The characters were complicated and even though Leoni was a frustrating character, she wasn't one-dimensional. There were moments when I felt more than just anger with her character. Quick read as well.

Content Warnings

avareadsoccasionally's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

Really beautiful. It was lyrical at times and I really liked that. I read it quickly and it got me out of a slump. There’s nothing better than an author that really knows what’s up and how to express themselves through their writing

Content Warnings

cptnsulu's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

sarahgarlicnan's review against another edition

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dark sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Tough book because it is so dark and rough and displays so much tragic violence.

Content Warnings

mamatoca's review against another edition

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challenging dark reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated

2.75

Beautiful writing, but just so full of trauma with little hope of redemption. This book gave me nightmares. The magical realism was confusing and inconsistent for me.

Content Warnings

ari5scythe's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

4.5

Content Warnings

shanban0303's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Had to read this book for a college class, and thus wasn't expecting much. But my god, what a beautiful, heartbreaking book. Found myself gasping and laughing and sighing out of sadness for these characters, many times throughout the book. Beautiful imagery throughout, will be looking for more books by this author. Profs teaching English classes: assign this book, your students will be better for it.

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