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oncloudem's review against another edition
3.0
This novel is really well written and a pretty great story. I really enjoyed the protagonist's characterization and how the author portrayed how Loxley saw the world and experienced everything. However, I was slightly disappointed because the summary of the story made it sound different from how the events actually played out. Some of the characters also seemed to just exist in the story for the sole purpose of just having more conflicts. It was an interesting read, I won't deny the that, but I was just expecting a little bit more.
rosemarieshort's review against another edition
4.0
If I were to try to simplify Every Mountain Made Low, I might say that reading this book is like being submerged in a very cold, very deep vat of water, without any warning, and without knowing how to swim. Be warned now – I wouldn’t necessarily recommend someone read this book for pleasure. It isn’t a beach / poolside paperback. This is some heavy stuff. I’m talking dealing with disabilities, sexual assault, murder, torture…not exactly story hour topics.
Saying that, I really liked this book.
I am always banging on about trying to find something different in the fantasy / sci-fi genre. Well this is certainly different. I found Loxley to be an incredibly compelling heroine – possibly because her autism made her very unpredictable (ironic, perhaps, considering how important predictability and routine is to those with autism). I’ve never read a book in this genre where the main character had learning difficulties and I found the view Loxley gave me as a reader simultaneously painful and fascinating.
Loxley learns a lot of lessons throughout the book. She has to grapple with the idea of bad people being able to do good things (Officer Crutchfield) and good people doing bad things (Nora). She has to explore her sexuality (spoiler; not only does Loxley have autism, she is also gay) and come to terms with the fact that her recently deceased Mother didn’t know everything about the world. All this surrounds a plot centered around vengeance against a religion-obsessed kingpin, determined to overthrow this version of the Government and unafraid to kill those who get in his way.
Her autism not being enough to make her different – Loxley can also see ghosts. These spirits are hideous shades of their former selves, desperate to touch her to regain some sensation of being alive again. If they touch her she suffers crippling pain and, in some special cases, they become a part of her. There was a point at which I wondered whether the seeing ghosts thing was actually all in her head, and that she was actually just experiencing schizophrenia and developing alternate personalities to deal with the trauma of what was going on in her life. However White’s writing seems to definitely point to the ghosts being real – giving her knowledge she couldn’t possibly know when they meld with her. This ability helps her unravel mysteries and brings her to the attention of both the good and the bad – changing her carefully structured life irreparably.
White writes Loxley in a way which I think is uncomfortable and yet also relatable. Having a family member with autism myself, I could see the traits written as being authentic to many autistic people. All signs and symptoms are different, depending on the person, but I found myself alternately being horrified by and enjoying her point of view. She’s not easy to love but she’s difficult to dislike too.
If I were to be critical, my only comment would be that, at over four hundred pages, the book felt just a little heavy. However with so much story to tell, it’s little wonder that the length is what it is.
I would recommend this to the fearless reader, aching for something fresher than the typical YA Fantasy fayre. Steel yourselves though – this isn’t an easy read. It is, however, a worthwhile one.
Saying that, I really liked this book.
I am always banging on about trying to find something different in the fantasy / sci-fi genre. Well this is certainly different. I found Loxley to be an incredibly compelling heroine – possibly because her autism made her very unpredictable (ironic, perhaps, considering how important predictability and routine is to those with autism). I’ve never read a book in this genre where the main character had learning difficulties and I found the view Loxley gave me as a reader simultaneously painful and fascinating.
Loxley learns a lot of lessons throughout the book. She has to grapple with the idea of bad people being able to do good things (Officer Crutchfield) and good people doing bad things (Nora). She has to explore her sexuality (spoiler; not only does Loxley have autism, she is also gay) and come to terms with the fact that her recently deceased Mother didn’t know everything about the world. All this surrounds a plot centered around vengeance against a religion-obsessed kingpin, determined to overthrow this version of the Government and unafraid to kill those who get in his way.
Her autism not being enough to make her different – Loxley can also see ghosts. These spirits are hideous shades of their former selves, desperate to touch her to regain some sensation of being alive again. If they touch her she suffers crippling pain and, in some special cases, they become a part of her. There was a point at which I wondered whether the seeing ghosts thing was actually all in her head, and that she was actually just experiencing schizophrenia and developing alternate personalities to deal with the trauma of what was going on in her life. However White’s writing seems to definitely point to the ghosts being real – giving her knowledge she couldn’t possibly know when they meld with her. This ability helps her unravel mysteries and brings her to the attention of both the good and the bad – changing her carefully structured life irreparably.
White writes Loxley in a way which I think is uncomfortable and yet also relatable. Having a family member with autism myself, I could see the traits written as being authentic to many autistic people. All signs and symptoms are different, depending on the person, but I found myself alternately being horrified by and enjoying her point of view. She’s not easy to love but she’s difficult to dislike too.
If I were to be critical, my only comment would be that, at over four hundred pages, the book felt just a little heavy. However with so much story to tell, it’s little wonder that the length is what it is.
I would recommend this to the fearless reader, aching for something fresher than the typical YA Fantasy fayre. Steel yourselves though – this isn’t an easy read. It is, however, a worthwhile one.
nerdyrev's review against another edition
3.0
This was one of those books that snuck up on me. I went in cold not quite knowing what to expect. White has created an incredible world of status through the rings within the world. It was a risk making Loxley be autistic as she is often abused by her boss and by the ghosts that she can see. As a reader, this made me a bit uncomfortable if I am being honest. Abuse in any form to female characters is difficult, it amped up due to the Loxley character. I felt tense reading the book. Other than those feelings, the story itself was an interesting one which I really enjoyed. It would be hard to recommend the book, even though it was a good story. I gave this one 3.5 stars.
*I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of time. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.
*I want to thank NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book ahead of time. I received it for free in exchange for an honest review.
katieejayne's review against another edition
2.0
**Actual rating - 2.5**
This book was not for me. It took me an absolute age to read. The plot was utterly insane and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I still, to this day can't explain the plot nor the motivations behind it. There were an awful lot of elements to this novel, it was dystopian in the construction of the setting, yet it was meant to be set during the 1980's, the main character had social anxiety and autism but could also see ghosts. Loxley, the aforementioned main character, saw the spirits of those that hadn't yet passed on. They flocked to her like moths to a flame, their touch causing her immeasurable pain but giving her the ability to relive their final day.
Whilst I think having representation in novels is fantastic, I can't comment on how accurately represented autism and social anxiety is. Loxley certainly seems to have an extreme case of both with loud noises terrifying her, crowds rendering her near motionless and the inability to notice social cues.
If you're thinking this is going to a be light hearted read it isn't. It's incredibly dark and deals with some incredibly sensitive topics. I have to commend the author from not shying away from them but again I can't comment on how they were depicted.
I'd definitely suggest reading with caution. This novel has a lot of death, violence and sexual assault content. All of which are pretty graphic.
This was definitely wasn't for me but that's not to say you wouldn't enjoy it! If you can puzzle out the plot please let me know.
www.a-novel-idea.co.uk
This book was not for me. It took me an absolute age to read. The plot was utterly insane and I didn't particularly like any of the characters. I still, to this day can't explain the plot nor the motivations behind it. There were an awful lot of elements to this novel, it was dystopian in the construction of the setting, yet it was meant to be set during the 1980's, the main character had social anxiety and autism but could also see ghosts. Loxley, the aforementioned main character, saw the spirits of those that hadn't yet passed on. They flocked to her like moths to a flame, their touch causing her immeasurable pain but giving her the ability to relive their final day.
Whilst I think having representation in novels is fantastic, I can't comment on how accurately represented autism and social anxiety is. Loxley certainly seems to have an extreme case of both with loud noises terrifying her, crowds rendering her near motionless and the inability to notice social cues.
If you're thinking this is going to a be light hearted read it isn't. It's incredibly dark and deals with some incredibly sensitive topics. I have to commend the author from not shying away from them but again I can't comment on how they were depicted.
I'd definitely suggest reading with caution. This novel has a lot of death, violence and sexual assault content. All of which are pretty graphic.
This was definitely wasn't for me but that's not to say you wouldn't enjoy it! If you can puzzle out the plot please let me know.
www.a-novel-idea.co.uk
thevillainsmuse's review against another edition
1.0
This book's plot was interesting and unique, kind of supernatural noir. However, I was disappointed with the characters and their relationships which felt flat and underdeveloped. The main character, Loxley has crippling social issues and falls in love with any woman who is relatively kind to her; even if say her previous would-be lover died just a few days ago. She was difficult to relate to and the rest of the book does not spend enough time on anyone else for you to grow attached. Even Loxley's mother, whose quotes are strewn throughout Loxley's inner dialogue, is killed off in a single sentence by choking of all things. What did she choke on? We don't even know.
This book had potential but ultimately was a let down.
This book had potential but ultimately was a let down.
bekah_phillips's review against another edition
4.0
Really enjoyed this book, couldn’t put it down. Loved the fact that it was tasteful but also brutal to read at some points. The main character, Loxley, was written so eloquently and a badass bitch.
loulaubye's review against another edition
4.0
Well... that was weird. In a world where every other novel feels like a copy of that one other novel you read one or two or ten years ago, finding a story so damn original was overwhelming. Its inventiveness doesn't always work well, but there are many great things to rescue from it.
Loxley is a compelling character. Everything about her is endlessly interesting: she's a gay woman with some unspecified mental disability who works as a farmer, market seller, street musician and as assistant to an apothecary in a post-apocalyptic/dystopian city. Oh, and she is able to see ghosts, and acquire their skills and knowledge by touching them. She is pretty much a full story on her own.
But then, the story takes her down a path of murder and revenge, politics, mobsters and an ill placed romance. It's not that any of those are bad, per se, it's just that they're too much.
The first few pages can be incredibly frustrating, since you're trying to understand Loxley and the way she views her unfamiliar and confusing world, and when you're finally getting accustomed to it, the perspective suddenly changes to Nora's, which is like a breath of fresh air.
Then the main conflict begins, and the narrative takes of, leaving you behind, utterly perplexed. Catching up is complicated, since you're suddenly changing from a ghost-possession situation to a high speed chase through an urban steampunk-ish landscape, wondering all the time wether Loxley's descriptions are literal or metaphorical. It's madness.
Thus, while the main character and the setting are incredibly interesting, the story ends up being underwhelming, and it almost gets in the way of Loxley's potential. Sure, a good revenge story is always nice to read, but it just didn't seem like the sort of task you set for the girl who starts her story feeling terrified of loud noises.
I don't mean to say that Loxley's exploits are beyond her capabilities, but that her character development felt rushed and unexplored. Even the 'little things', like her romance with Jayla, would've been so much more enjoyable if it had been properly paced.
(I believe the whole story takes place in less than a month? I might be wrong, but I read it like that and that's why I disliked the pacing).
In the end, the one and only reason I enjoyed this book was Loxley. Once I got accustomed to her, reading her was a delight. She is scared, confused and overwhelmed most of the time, but she never stops pushing forward. She is insulted, underestimated and hurt by most of the people she meets, but even when she feels doubt she keeps going, and eventually finds people who are willing to see her for who she is.
Loxley is worth 5 stars, but I knocked one star down because of the whole mess that Tailypo, Duke and Hiram are. They were just annoying.
Loxley is a compelling character. Everything about her is endlessly interesting: she's a gay woman with some unspecified mental disability who works as a farmer, market seller, street musician and as assistant to an apothecary in a post-apocalyptic/dystopian city. Oh, and she is able to see ghosts, and acquire their skills and knowledge by touching them. She is pretty much a full story on her own.
But then, the story takes her down a path of murder and revenge, politics, mobsters and an ill placed romance. It's not that any of those are bad, per se, it's just that they're too much.
The first few pages can be incredibly frustrating, since you're trying to understand Loxley and the way she views her unfamiliar and confusing world, and when you're finally getting accustomed to it, the perspective suddenly changes to Nora's, which is like a breath of fresh air.
Then the main conflict begins, and the narrative takes of, leaving you behind, utterly perplexed. Catching up is complicated, since you're suddenly changing from a ghost-possession situation to a high speed chase through an urban steampunk-ish landscape, wondering all the time wether Loxley's descriptions are literal or metaphorical. It's madness.
Thus, while the main character and the setting are incredibly interesting, the story ends up being underwhelming, and it almost gets in the way of Loxley's potential. Sure, a good revenge story is always nice to read, but it just didn't seem like the sort of task you set for the girl who starts her story feeling terrified of loud noises.
I don't mean to say that Loxley's exploits are beyond her capabilities, but that her character development felt rushed and unexplored. Even the 'little things', like her romance with Jayla, would've been so much more enjoyable if it had been properly paced.
(I believe the whole story takes place in less than a month? I might be wrong, but I read it like that and that's why I disliked the pacing).
In the end, the one and only reason I enjoyed this book was Loxley. Once I got accustomed to her, reading her was a delight. She is scared, confused and overwhelmed most of the time, but she never stops pushing forward. She is insulted, underestimated and hurt by most of the people she meets, but even when she feels doubt she keeps going, and eventually finds people who are willing to see her for who she is.
Loxley is worth 5 stars, but I knocked one star down because of the whole mess that Tailypo, Duke and Hiram are. They were just annoying.