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apriless's review
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I only wanted to read this because I am from the area where the author set this story and grew up adjacent to before becoming involved in familiar religious circles.
Themes around true believers, gifts/acts of the spirit, girlhood, puberty, sexuality and assignments for women around long-suffering hit the hardest. The god glitter was a fun mention. There's this way that Lacey May does/does not engage the world that felt super familiar. She at once wants to feel chosen by those around her yet also "wanted a different world. One that did not exist." She is, afterall, a young girl, and I do not believe in any judgment against her for simply surviving. Sometimes you survive by seeking affirmations. Sometimes you survive by dreaming of new worlds. And sometimes too, you survive by making friends with the witchy, gothy women who lean into having been cast out from the beginning. I probably related too hard to be objective about anything, but I welcome this story in my own after-life where I try to make sense of my childhood from far away.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Grief, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Addiction, Rape, Alcohol, Incest, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, and Pregnancy
shortcas's review
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
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