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readinginthegrey's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
It never strives to make you forgive her, but it does help you understand her.
Her family is complex and the book takes you through their history. It doesn't shy away from topics like intergenerational trauma and racism. It also has a lot of hope as well as healing. There are people you'll love and will break your heart and others that will drive you crazy. The end ties things together nicely and I'm interested to see what will happen in the last one.
Moderate: Racism and Drug abuse
haileydonna's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Pandemic/Epidemic, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death, Drug abuse, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcoholism, Abortion, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Pedophilia, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
egcam's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Addiction, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Racism, Abortion, Child abuse, Child death, and Colonisation
Minor: Cultural appropriation
sadgirlsidney's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75
Graphic: Racism and Medical trauma
slpslp's review
4.5
Graphic: Racism, Suicide attempt, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia
tlaynejones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Child death, Emotional abuse, Colonisation, Grief, Pregnancy, Racism, and Mental illness
emilily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Racism, and Colonisation
desarroi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Racism, Abandonment, Abortion, Addiction, Child death, Death, and Sexism
markedwithanm's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Blood, Emotional abuse, Alcoholism, Cursing, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, and Medical trauma
annemaries_shelves's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The Strangers is a really powerful and emotional companion novel to The Break, following four women and their POVs of the The Stranger family: two sisters and their mother in modern day, and their Grandmother through her life.
The Storykeepers podcast covers the themes and discussion much better than I (and I highly recommend checking out that episode specifically and the podcast generally. But Vermette spends a lot of time developing and exploring themes of memory and family history (particularly on how traditions can be lost through time, trauma, and grief), addiction and the impact it has on the substance user and their loved ones, and insidious, ongoing effects of colonialism and racism on Indigenous communities - specifically Métis women. Men are acknowledged to have their own struggles but are really not the focus nor given much grace due to their role in perpetuating intersectional gender-based violence.
I adored the characters and felt so strongly for their situations. I was rooting for each and every one of them, even when they let themselves down or others disappointed them. Margaret in particular reminded me of a lot of women of that era, including my own family members. Constrained by societal roles and expectations, poverty, and choices partially outside of their control, and embittered by those experiences. Elsie, to me, would have been someone much stronger if she'd grown up in a different situation - and I felt my heart breaking every time she relapsed, even though I was also frequently frustrated by her decisions and behaviour. Phoenix broke my heart from the first pages. Having been introduced to her in The Break, I knew what she was capable of, but she was failed by people from the start and was never given the chance to heal (except by Ben, who tried his hardest to share teachings/medicine with her). I think her story's resolution was the hardest to bear because she couldn't let go of the anger that had festered in her from her trauma. Cedar Sage, I think, represented the hope of the future. Given a name (and names mean a lot in this story) was that indicative of her heritage, and eventually reunited with her father (and her Native-obsessed white stepmother) in her teen years, she demonstrates the possibility of healing from intergenerational trauma and poverty, and breaking the cycle. And that last scene where she meets a character from The Break was *so* well done.
You don't have to have read The Break necessarily, but I highly recommend it because it gives a lot of context to this story and some of the characters' histories. Plus it's just damn good.
Overall, a fantastic, unflinching, and beautifully written novel.
CW: references to rape and sexual assault and molestation, substance use and addiction, abortion, pregnancy complications and traumatic births, prison system, violence, intergenerational trauma and grief, foster system, depression and PTSD, racism and colonialism.
Graphic: Abortion, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racism, Physical abuse, Violence, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, and Fatphobia
Minor: Child abuse, Rape, and Sexual assault