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lbelow's review
adventurous
mysterious
tense
4.5
The cult/religious aspect of this made this a unique take on human clones. I liked that I didn't know who I could trust as Amira navigated a situation that became increasingly dangerous. I also loved all the strong female characters and how they each displayed their inner strength in different ways—from Amira with her razor-sharp determination, to Valerie with her tough-as-nails exterior, to D'Arcy with her naive-yet-competent demeanor, to Rozene searching for purpose by having a child. I look forward to reading the sequel!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Kidnapping, Torture, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Murder, Addiction, Violence, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Gun violence, Blood, Alcohol, and Child abuse
Minor: Racism, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Lesbophobia, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Sexism, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Deportation, Confinement, Drug use, Bullying, and Body shaming
laurareads87's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
The Sentient includes a lot of heavy themes - cloning and medical/research ethics, religious coercion and patriarchal cults, trauma, memory, class disparities, reproductive justice - within the context of a coherent plot set in a relatively believable near-future setting with an interesting protagonist POV. In other words, I like a lot about this and I think it's a really solid debut. I feel like the characters were mostly well developed even though there were quite a lot of them, and it felt like a fresh take on the subject matter. What didn't quite work for me is some of the pacing toward the end; there were perhaps one or two too many things going on, and the technology got a bit convoluted and less believable. I also felt like in a few places it skewed YA (which isn't my thing) though I wouldn't say it reads as YA overall. Overall, though, I liked this and I'd happily read more from Nadia Afifi.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Confinement, Gun violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail
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