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bosco29's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
slow-paced
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, and Kidnapping
lilawsahar's review
adventurous
dark
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This book read like a Wes Anderson film. Lots of dry humor and goofy moments —like her using poison ivy to get back at her sister. I also enjoyed her dark humor and curious disposition. Anyone who is fond of poisons can be my friend! You can definitely tell that this book was written by a man though.
Gripes with the book:
- Lots of description to the situation and scenery going on which makes it hard to read at times. I think the authors writing gets better as the novel goes on. The description about how Flavia was rescued at the end was so confusing.
- The conversations between Flavia and the detective seemed flirtatious.
- The author is American and is writing about Britain and their customs. Just seems wrong tbh. Do research.
Side note: I love how I read about poisons before this book and this novel references different types of poisons!
Gripes with the book:
- Lots of description to the situation and scenery going on which makes it hard to read at times. I think the authors writing gets better as the novel goes on. The description about how Flavia was rescued at the end was so confusing.
- The conversations between Flavia and the detective seemed flirtatious.
- The author is American and is writing about Britain and their customs. Just seems wrong tbh. Do research.
Side note: I love how I read about poisons before this book and this novel references different types of poisons!
Content Warnings
Moderate: Kidnapping, Death, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Racism
mint_julippe's review
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping, and Racism
shewritesinmargins's review against another edition
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racism, and Confinement
katherine_alexis's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Racism and Murder
anniup's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, and Death
Moderate: Suicide
purplepenning's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement
Moderate: Misogyny, Classism, Death, Xenophobia, Grief, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death, Colonisation, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, Torture, Bullying, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, Death of parent, and War
About halfway through the book there's a long monologue that features an extended depiction of racist stereotypes, with a few others scattered throughout.emileereadsbooks's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Overall, I really enjoyed this book. I did struggle to get through it but that was more about me and my reading life than this book.
Pros: I like how spunky and confident Flavia is. She is smart and the mystery element was very interesting. I feel like there was a good setup for relationships between characters to grow in the following books (which I will be giving a shot).
Cons: Flavia is a bit too cocky at times for my liking and her contentious relationship with her sisters bothered me a bit.
The biggest reason I think this book is a "really liked" rating vs. a "loved" rating for me is that last year I read and fell in love with Myrtle Hardcastle. Myrtle and Flavia are very alike but Myrtle is more humble and virtuous, and I read her first, so I like Myrtle more. I do think that it would be a great book club for a group to read both the first Flavia and first Myrtle books and contrast and compare them. That being said, Flavia, because of the content, I would label as more young YA while Myrtle is firmly middle grade.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Murder
Minor: Bullying, Suicide, and Death
wondereads13's review
adventurous
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
I found this a really good mystery, and I love that Flavia essentially decides to solve the mystery because she's told she can't. Spite is a wonderful motivator. Also, petition for Inspector Hewitt to adopt Flavia.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder and Kidnapping