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A review by peytiebear
Tess of the Road by Rachel Hartman
adventurous
challenging
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I really like Rachel Hartman's world-building, character creations, and overall storytelling prowess, but man...this book started off what I can only call grim and bleak. Now, I was listening to the audiobook, so that might have been part of the problem. Maybe reading it oneself is a better experience. But I really had to force myself to keep reading, and the only reason I did is because I really hate not finishing books.
That being said, it is a very good book. It's just really frustrating at first because the protagonist is so lost in toxic and chaotic behavior that it's painful to read and you can't really connect with her until much later in the book, because you have no idea at first why she's acting the way she is or why you should like her. Maybe that's part of why the book is structured that way, to make you examine your own first impressions later...again, it's really well done, I just found it hard to get through the first half that had such a dark, jaded, angry, cynical worldview.
That being said, it is a very good book. It's just really frustrating at first because the protagonist is so lost in toxic and chaotic behavior that it's painful to read and you can't really connect with her until much later in the book, because you have no idea at first why she's acting the way she is or why you should like her. Maybe that's part of why the book is structured that way, to make you examine your own first impressions later...again, it's really well done, I just found it hard to get through the first half that had such a dark, jaded, angry, cynical worldview.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Rape, and Sexism