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madelinedalton's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Police brutality, Self harm, and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder, Racial slurs, Racism, Abortion, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol
bookishcookiemonster'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
3.0
Where it started and where it ended, not at all what I was expecting.
I love messy characters and this book is FULL of messy characters.
Made me reflect on how we really don't know what is happening in the lives of people around us.
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Physical abuse, Vomit, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Infertility, Abortion, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Miscarriage
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Gun violence and Suicidal thoughts
snavehannah'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
3.75
Graphic: Abortion, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Police brutality, Suicide, Gore, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Mental illness, Eating disorder, and Drug use
Minor: Animal death
itsbumley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Misogyny, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Abortion, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Racism, and Sexual content
laurenkimoto's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Classism, Gaslighting, Drug use, Eating disorder, Racism, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Death of parent, Gun violence, Medical content, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
mekaylynn's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Miscarriage, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Infidelity, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Violence, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Infertility, Eating disorder, Suicide, Infidelity, Cursing, Slavery, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
thesawyerbean's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The actual premise was intriguing - the commencing few chapters were not particularly enthralling, but the pace did pick up later on in the novel. The portrayal of nihilistic self-destructive sex was raw and ugly, knitted together in a web of nuanced discussions on race, sexuality, feminism and capitalism which I found very interesting and affecting. These are the parts that dragged this book up in its rating.
However, I overall found this to be quite a slog to get through. I powered through the final half in one sitting, and the concluding chapters were immaculately done. But in the end I wasn’t particularly enthralled or interested in Edie as a character.
I stand by my appreciation for Leilani’s prose, and I finish my review with this quote that I found powerful:
I am inclined to pray, but on principle, I don’t. God is not for women. He is for the fruit. He makes you want and he makes you wicked, and while you sleep, he plants a seed in your womb that will be born just to die.
Graphic: Alcohol, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Blood, Fatphobia, Grief, Abortion, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Vomit, and Addiction
arys_library's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Miscarriage and Sexual content
Moderate: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Eating disorder, Racism, Sexual violence, and Abortion
Minor: Death of parent, Drug use, Infertility, Body shaming, Police brutality, Vomit, and Toxic relationship
joanaprneves's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
All this while there is very little character development and no real incursion into the characters and their behaviour. The middle-aged characters have the most movie-cliche middle-age crisis, whereas the young twenty-something is critiqued for the instant-validation typical of her generation. Of course
Just like in Animal, this seems like a very well produced hit song lacking the depth of an indie first album.
Graphic: Blood, Animal death, Addiction, and Alcohol
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, and Infertility
Minor: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Miscarriage, and Pregnancy
ashleybeereads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Police brutality, Blood, Racism, Sexual content, Violence, Medical content, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Alcohol, Body shaming, Grief, Mental illness, Suicide, Car accident, Death of parent, and Infertility
Minor: Vomit and Abortion