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cepbreed'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: Sexism, Murder, Violence, Bullying, Classism, Gore, War, Death, Grief, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, and Rape
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Animal death, and Slavery
Minor: Death of parent
minimoose0's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Sexism, Torture, Murder, Trafficking, Racism, Rape, Violence, and Sexual violence
mirandyli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, War, Blood, Classism, Death, Murder, Violence, Body horror, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Torture, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Rape, and Sexism
stephanieluxton'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
5.0
This book is about 16 year old Darrow - a member of the Red's on Mars who beleiie they're slaving away in the planets mines for a higher purpose of terraforming the planet to get it ready for future generations. He lives with his family and wife, in terrible conditions. An act of disobedience triggers a series of events which shatter his entire world and he learns Mars is already terraformed and Mars is a bustling, fairly high tech civilization run by the Golds. His people, the Reds have been lied to in order to create an entire cast of people who are literal slaves. Darrow is then presented with the opportunity to infiltrate the Golds and must push himself beyond the limits to move up in society in order to reform the system.
So much happens in this book. The book takes place over the course of a couple years and it's fantastic. There's a ton of characters but they feel complex. The stakes feel super high in this book. I love feeling afraid for the main character. There's little twists and turns throughout the whole story. I loved not knowing how things would play out. The character growth is unreal. Darrow changes so much during the story and it's empowering to experience his growth - although he messes up quite a bit too.
I can see how some people may think of the Hunger Games or Lord of the Flies while reading this but it's definitely it's own story. I am not someone who enjoys series a lot, but I am really excited to keep reading this one.
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, War, Grief, Toxic friendship, Child death, Classism, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Death, Murder, Misogyny, Slavery, and Bullying
Moderate: Cannibalism, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Alcohol
Minor: Excrement
A lot of dark things happen in this book but none are described in absolutely excruciating detail. You can probably handle it.casualk's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Body horror, Misogyny, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Sexism, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and War
Minor: Mental illness, Ableism, and Fatphobia
dahlia_maxwell's review
2.25
Graphic: Slavery
Moderate: Sexual assault, Child death, Rape, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Cannibalism and Sexism
oddpilot97's review against another edition
It’s all dudes running around a forest trying to do violence and i can’t tell any of them apart and i don’t care about what’s happening.
I trudged through an hour of blahhhhh before sadly giving up.
Graphic: Classism
Moderate: Violence, Body horror, and Sexism
bookfulthoughts's review
- 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
“I am the spark that will set the worlds afire. I am the hammer that cracks the chains.”
I really liked this one! The story was extremely well written and interesting. The world building was excellent and extremely detailed. I was able to visualize exactly what was happening and what everyone looked like! I like that the plot was never lost in the storytelling and this book sets up for the rest of the books in the series perfectly. I do believe that I can see this book becoming a classic in the near future. I loved the concept of the color classism and how that was presented. In my opinion, that was a unique aspect of the story. I also loved that Darrow wasn’t perfect! I he has many flaws but that’s what makes this book good. It gives his character room to grow and develop in complexity.
My reasoning for not giving it 5 stars. Personally, in certain parts of the book it was very reminiscent of the Hunger Games. Having inspiration is fine and I have no problem with that. I’m not sure if it's just me but some scenes felt too familiar. Another thing I took points off for was the fact that I felt like I should have been more emotionally attached to certain characters but I didn’t feel much when things happened. I felt like it was a little cold at times with other characters. Besides these issues, I really liked this book and I do plan on reading the rest of the series in the near future.
Graphic: Sexual violence, War, Violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual assault, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Death, Stalking, Slavery, Sexual harassment, Racism, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Genocide, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Confinement, and Animal death
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death of parent, Cannibalism, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Self harm
baghaii's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Physical abuse, and Death
Moderate: Rape, Sexual content, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Slavery, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Homophobia
lthintz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
0.5
Minor: Sexual violence, Slavery, Sexual assault, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, and Rape