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rainbopagn'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
4.75
SPOILERS in
3
2
1
I am more than a little pissed that Thurwar killed Staxxx. I had expected them to go out together, mortally wounding each other. I understand the meaning of the full circle moment but it still annoyed me.
Graphic: Blood, Police brutality, Violence, Body horror, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Racism, Homophobia, Suicide, Torture, Transphobia, Self harm, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Ableism, Rape, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Gun violence, and Infidelity
Minor: Addiction, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Medical trauma, and Cursing
fatimaelf'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? Yes
5.0
And — respectfully — it kind of ruined my life. In a way that I will recommend to any person that asks, because I think it was so good and so important to read. To be completely honest, it wasn’t a book I necessarily wanted to pick back up to read again, or one that I wanted to continue reading, because of how distressing and sad it was, but it was a book I couldn’t stop thinking about the entire time I was reading it. And I mean that in the best way.
Graphic: Misogyny, Murder, Racism, Confinement, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Mental illness, and Suicide
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, and Homophobia
emily_koopmann's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Sexual content, Ableism, Physical abuse, Blood, Racism, and Death of parent
jalexpulliamkepler'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
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Police brutality, Grief, Homophobia, Violence, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Gore, Child abuse, Torture, Blood, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Lesbophobia, Sexual assault, Deportation, Sexual harassment, Ableism, Alcohol, and Car accident
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Chronic illness
noodlebooknook's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
4 stars in some execution
4.5 stars to call it even
Let’s start with the good:
- the concept is very very good, I mean death games at this point I thought couldn’t be re-invented but this felt familiar yet fresh
- the main characters were so loved I almost cried multiple times it was so real and raw
- the author was very good at embodying all of the different POVS each one felt very separate and original
Some small criticisms:
- the POVs shifting without explicit chapter names for each character can be a little jarring sometimes I wasn’t sure if we were in the story of someone in the games or someone in the outside world
- some of the POV chapters were a little boring, like some chapters would have a rich back story while others I found myself not as invested in
- the changing sometimes between current and past events were not super clear and sometimes made a little confusion in the narrative, chapters as dates or names I think would have cleared me up
Overall I think this book is an amazing read and says so so so much about current prison systems and neo-slavery while in a fiction setting a lot of this book is very very real.
Graphic: Rape, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Ableism, Violence, Xenophobia, and Death
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Gore, Confinement, Self harm, Medical trauma, Police brutality, Medical content, Murder, Rape, Suicide, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Classism, Hate crime, Transphobia, Car accident, Gun violence, Infidelity, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, and Ableism
cantfindmybookmark'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Mental illness, Police brutality, Racism, Slavery, Racial slurs, Confinement, Suicide, and Torture
Moderate: Ableism
thedreammachine'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Violence, Death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Murder, and Torture
Moderate: Classism, Physical abuse, Slavery, Grief, Suicide, Racism, Self harm, Police brutality, Mental illness, and Medical content
Minor: Physical abuse, Misogyny, Ableism, Sexual assault, and Addiction
jessthanthree'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Murder, Blood, Suicide, Self harm, Gore, Torture, Violence, Police brutality, Confinement, Mental illness, Racism, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Slavery, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Racial slurs, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Lesbophobia, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Transphobia, and Abandonment
sarah984'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
5.0
I don't even know what to say about this one. Brutal and honest, great character writing. A little bit of speculative fiction to shine a light on the horrors existing right now. In some places it feels a little "abolition 101" but overall the prose sings. Phenomenal.
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Torture, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, and Self harm
Moderate: Medical content, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Ableism, Blood, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Misogyny, Racism, Cancer, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Sexual content, Slavery, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, and Religious bigotry