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wardenred'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
Thank Heavens for their misplaced belief that only the most holy should be in charge of the direction of Matilda’s journey, as that belief led to a good many of them dying.
Looking back, I knew from the get go that this was a book about slavery set in the confines of an inescapable generation ship. I shouldn’t be at all surprised at how dark this got. Still, somehow, I was completely unprepared for the sheer brutality of this setting, and yet barely able to put the book down. Dark as fuck, yes, but so compelling.
I think a big part of the impact was the approach the author took to describing the traumatic events faced by the characters. Only rarely do the events themselves get the spotlight. For the most part, the focus is either on the build up to them, or the aftermath, or on occasion, something is described in a few sparing, detailless sentences that focus on the utter mundanity of things that shouldn’t be happening to people at all. Altogether it creates a truly chilling effect.
What I found the most striking were all the human connections forming in this utter darkness, all these people figuring out ways to be kind to each other, to learn, to find the strength for another day. Aster, Theo, Giselle, Melusine are all going to live rent-free in my head for a while now, I’m sure. Especially Aster. I loved her so much. She’s clearly some type of neurodivergent and her way of interacting with the world was so interesting to me. I’ve seen reviews saying she didn’t form deep connections because of her unemotional disposition, but I disagree with it a lot—I feel like the connections were very much there, just processed and expressed differently than is common for neurotypical individuals.
Despite all the feelings and thoughts the book made me experience, I do have some half-complaints, mostly about the pacing: I felt like the story took a long while to start going anywhere, other than just being a snapshot of an oppressive, claustrophobic dystopia, but then the ending was rushed. It’s a bit like the book started as a character/situation study and then decided to develop a stronger plot a tad too late. That lack of balance didn’t take away from the powerful delivery of the themes, but it did made the narrative harder to process.
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Suicide, Slavery, Confinement, Racism, Violence, Death, Ableism, Misogyny, Homophobia, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Death of parent
hazelwood's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abortion, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual harassment, Suicide attempt, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Death, Gun violence, Medical content, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Vomit, Ableism, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Slavery, Confinement, Excrement, Gore, Sexual assault, Cursing, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, and Violence
tatteredwings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Physical abuse, Suicide, Vomit, Abortion, Violence, Torture, Sexual assault, Racism, Slavery, and Sexism
Moderate: Rape
talonsontypewriters'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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Torture, Gore, Slavery, Blood, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Classism, Death, Child death, Racism, Medical content, and Police brutality
Moderate: Self harm, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Transphobia, Gun violence, Suicide, Death of parent, Sexism, Abortion, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Dysphoria
Minor: Cancer, Pregnancy, Incest, Animal death, Vomit, Pedophilia, and Domestic abuse
booksqworm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Slavery, Suicide attempt, Violence, Death of parent, Excrement, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Child death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Lesbophobia, Blood, Rape, Abortion, Classism, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Medical content, Suicide, Ableism, Self harm, Sexism, Torture, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Mental illness
mostlyvoidpartiallystars's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Rape, Medical content, Racism, Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Child death, Torture, Sexual violence, Ableism, Violence, and Gun violence
tifftastic87's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Confinement, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, Death, Mental illness, Slavery, Suicide, and Abortion
Moderate: Lesbophobia, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Cursing, Dysphoria, Rape, Pregnancy, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence
Minor: Bullying
leweylibrary'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
3.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Torture, Abortion, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, Classism, Violence, Bullying, Police brutality, Rape, Child death, Gore, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Death, Body horror, Slavery, and Suicide attempt
wonderingintothevoid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Rape, Slavery, Racial slurs, Racism, Ableism, and Colonisation
Moderate: Sexual assault, Transphobia, Biphobia, Death, Pedophilia, and Toxic friendship
rcsreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The story of Aster learning about her mother through the journals she left behind started out so well and then kind of got lost later. We just dropped it for the middle of the book and then it reappeared at the end with a lot of solutions which clearly happened off page.
I could see why Giselle was there to show us the effects of trauma but i have no idea why she was Aster's friend, she seemed to hate her a lot and they had nothing in common apart from living on the same floor of the massive ship. I have no idea what the Lieutenants motives were, he was a cartoon villain who just decided one day that a random child was his nemesis and he was going to mess with her for the rest of his life.
It was very readable and I enjoyed it but this review seems to think otherwise...
Graphic: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Vomit, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abortion, Blood, Body horror, Child death, Classism, Colonisation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, War, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Self harm, Sexism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Stalking