A review by kreglow
By Any Other Name by Jodi Picoult

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.25

I enjoyed this one, but there were some issues. Pacing was inconsistent with the intertwining stories. The Elizabethan era portions tended to drag and the language was more melodramatic, while the modern day portion was paced well enough, but only barely touched upon the themes of sexism and racism within the theater community, instead following the heroine of the story, Melina, and a character arc that honestly is not fleshed out enough to make its intended impact. There is a romantic subplot that really doesn't make sense and feels tacked on. And the ending introduces an element of magical realism that did not exist until that point in the story. Overall, a decent read, but not perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Pandemic/Epidemic