Scan barcode
melissahawco's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Cancer, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Grief
aisabel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship and Grief
Moderate: Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Pedophilia
alexalily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Terminal illness, Cancer, Grief, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Medical content, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death, Bullying, Classism, and Cultural appropriation
glitterhobbit's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Honestly not sure how I feel about this book. Very dark and disturbing, and not what I expected at all. The novel meandered a lot and the ending felt abrupt. Be warned that this contains a graphic depiction of rape. (Part of the reason why I’m struggling with how to feel about this book. Really hated that part and it was such a shock and so late in the story. Very disturbing. I tried skim-reading it. Ugh.) The novel itself was honestly just unpleasant to read. It was disturbing.
One thing is for sure though—Karen Russell is really a stunning writer. I mean just a great writer. Her prose is so good.
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Cancer, Grief, and Death of parent
ashareadsbooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Mental illness, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, and Sexual content
Minor: Forced institutionalization
penofpossibilities's review
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Let's start with the pros: Russells writing blew me away. Sometimes I had to just stop reading to take in the absolute perfect sentence I just came across. Ava as a character was incredibly well nuanced and believable as a 13 year old. I loved being in her head, reading about her experiences so much, but let me get back on that in a bit.
The cons: I fiercely disliked Kiwi. His chapters were almost a chore to get through and his inner conflict just annoyed me because he would be judging other people around him constantly while being an asshole himself. He was incredibly sexist and disgusting and inappropriate, and the fact that it seemed to be Russells intention that the reader sympathized with him- well I couldn't. I understand why his storyline was there, the contrast between his coming of age on the mainland and the things Ava was going through meanwhile, would have hooked me if only Kiwi was a more likable character to read about.
Another thing that really, really bothered me was the cultural appropriation.
There was another scene which really rubbed me the wrong way,
A many scene was spent by Kiwi and his friends sexualizing girls and women, commenting on their appearances and treating them inappropriately, but you know, it's fine because they are sl*tty b*tches anyway! /sarcasm
I am very disappointed in Russell for writing this sort of harmful stereotyping of women :/
The final few chapters of this book contained a few clichés that I'd rather could have been avoided, but the ending really tied everything together pretty well. Ultimately this was a story exploring the human psyche living in a remote space almost cut off from the world, dealing with grief and loss and lack of good parental figures, coming of age and all that stuff. On that front it delivered exceptionally well, in my opinion. Ava was a well developed character and and unreliable narrator, which made some parts really spooky and chilling or shocking. Russell is able to take the reader on a journey through Avas eyes in such a way that you almost start to believe the same things Ava thinks. The exploration of what happens to Avas mind after her traumatic experiences is well done. Every sentence punched me in the gut. I feel as though the author knew about this topic very well. I think even more page time could have been spent on this, though. The ending was realistic, but left me in a dark mood and again having lost all faith in humanity and this cruel world.
What mystified me is that this book has been praised on the cover and in reviews as funny and adventurous. Both elements do present itself in the story, but are far from the main focus! This gave me the wrong idea of what I'd be getting myself into. This book is dark and gruesome and extremely graphic! Please check the trigger warnings before going into it. And don't expect a funny, quirky book; it's really not.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Blood, Cancer, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Racism, and Rape
Moderate: Sexism
Minor: Medical content and Vomit
Parent death, attempted su*cide, cultural appropriation, explosion