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bee_likes_books's review
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.25
I wanted to love this book, and I was so into it for the first 2/3rds that I felt outright betrayed when the THIRTY YEAR OLD WORLD-WISE VETERAN hooks up with the TEENAGER THAT CAN’T READ. The power dynamic was gross! And, yes, the teenager CAN turn into a terrible forest monster… in that specific forest. Which Leslie takes him away from. It ends with the two having soda floats while Stevie looks around in wonder at normal city things. Leslie (after flirting with someone else in front of Stevie) is like, “there’s a bookstore you might like!” And when Stevie is both slightly saddened by the open flirtation and reminds the main character that he can’t read (with can’t coming out like “cain’t” in a ‘cute childish way’) the MC is just like eh I’ll teach you how. It read like it was supposed to be romantic and aspirational but candidly it felt really gross to me. . The author didn’t shy away from giving the main character an aversion to the racism or eugenics of the time, so it wasn’t an attempt to be true to the time period either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Gore, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, and Transphobia
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Stalking, Racism, War, Rape, Pregnancy, and Confinement
Minor: Abortion
Is a scene where Leslie has sex with
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