Scan barcode
blubbn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Torture and Body horror
elenival's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Body horror
toffishay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Body horror, Murder, Death, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Classism, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Trafficking, Slavery, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Rape, Police brutality, Racism, War, Xenophobia, Torture, Medical content, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Cursing
yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
“Doing something when it is hard, because it is the right thing to do, matters more than doing it when it's easy. The world needs light now more than ever.”
I know that I don't read a lot of YA anymore, but I do tend to enjoy a good urban fantasy and there was just something about the blurb of The Library Of The Dead that had me fully intrigued. I was SO excited when my TBR jar thought it was time to finally read it, and I actually expected to end up finding a new favorite... But sadly the complete opposite happened. This had nothing to do with the premise itself, and everything with the writing. I simply clashed horribly with the writing style, and the way the premise was developed was actually rather confusing and vague at times. I strongly disliked all the slang and cursing; instead of feeling natural, the tone was rather forced and I sometimes struggled to understand certain phrases. My dislike for the writing also ment I wasn't really a fan of the main character Ropa, which was where most of the slang appeared. Even my curiosity for the bookish elements, the library and the magic couldn't redeem this story for me, and I confess that I started skimreading long before the halfway mark. I guess it won't come as a surprise that I won't be continuing this series in the future.
Graphic: Addiction, Kidnapping, Violence, Animal death, Body horror, Classism, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Confinement, Drug use, Police brutality, Torture, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Physical abuse
chalkletters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Moderate: Kidnapping and Child abuse
Minor: Body horror, Death, Drug use, and Fire/Fire injury
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Kidnapping, Body horror, and Child abuse
Moderate: Physical abuse, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Torture, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Medical content, Alcohol, Child death, Cancer, Excrement, Ableism, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicide, Car accident, Vomit, Infidelity, and Alcoholism
Drowning, sex work.enbae's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Physical abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Drug abuse, Grief, Police brutality, Abandonment, Blood, Cursing, and Drug use
Kidnapping of children, Maiming (a.o. of children), Povertyblewballoon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Moderate: Death and Body horror
sauvageloup's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
pros:
- the writing style was different and fun. I got a real sense of who Ropa was and liked her a lot. her character comes through through the writing, with a quirky mix of slang and complicated language and concepts. shes both smart and street smart.
- I also really loved priya and gran as side characters, they were great. priya was a lot of fun to read, and ropa's love for her gran was obvious.
- there was also some lovely descriptions in Huchu's writing, creating a great atmosphere.
- the horror was also genuinely creepy
- while the mystery was great, the tensions ropa had about still bringing money in and helping her family felt very real. she really feels she has to carry everything and doesnt tell anyone older than her, apart from Callender, who fails her.
- I likes the dystopian Edinburgh a lot, made a nice change from London, and the implied breakdown of society which was hinted at but never entirely explained, was interesting.
- priya's magical wheelchair was fab, really interesting application of magic.
- and the bits of African culture, the mbira helping ground the spirits and gran's magic, were great, enjoyed learning about them.
cons:
- I never got a real sense of Jomo, he seemed quite hapless and not particularly helpful, didnt quite get Ropa's loyalty to him.
- occasionally the slang dialogue did feel a bit forced but not often.
- the two main bits of the plot seemed very disparat .
- I did get a bit frustrated with the refusal to give an in depth explanation of a lot of things, like
but overall, really enjoyed this read :)
Graphic: Violence, Slavery, Death, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Trafficking
Moderate: Child death, Murder, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Sexism, and Alcoholism
a past character's gambling addiction is discussed.carrionlibrarian's review against another edition
3.0
Moderate: Body horror