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rhi_reading's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
A clunky, heavy-handed novel that spends every single page beating you around the head with a large ‘Feminism is evil’ stick. I gave it some grace at the beginning because I thought maybe it was designed to be a satire of the way some people view feminists, that trad-wife Miranda and her misandrist mother would meet in the middle and see each others views. I realised I was very wrong by about 1/3 of the way in, but by that point reading this book had turned in to the literary equivalent of rubbernecking at a ten-car pileup - you know it’s terrible, but you need to see HOW truly awful it is.
It’s certainly fast-paced, but this pace is achieved by cutting out almost all character development and relationship dynamics. Every choice made by the characters seem completely random. Why does Emma latch on to Jen Jones (the charasmatic leader of this seeming idyllic off-The-grid community, with a name so subtle she may as well just have been called Dr Evil) as soon as she meets her, to the point where she abandons her own mother? Jen has done nothing to earn this, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest Emma supported the extreme ideals of Femlandia before all this.
The ‘twist’ of the book was gross and not even especially clever, but don’t worry because it’s all resolved in pretty much the next chapter.
There are some absolutely sublime 1* review for this book on StoryGraph that go in to more detail about why exactly this book is so awful, Id suggest reading them over reading Femlandia - you’ll certainly experience more nuance, structure, and entertainment. My search for a great feminist dystopian story continues.
It’s certainly fast-paced, but this pace is achieved by cutting out almost all character development and relationship dynamics. Every choice made by the characters seem completely random. Why does Emma latch on to Jen Jones (the charasmatic leader of this seeming idyllic off-The-grid community, with a name so subtle she may as well just have been called Dr Evil) as soon as she meets her, to the point where she abandons her own mother? Jen has done nothing to earn this, there’s absolutely nothing to suggest Emma supported the extreme ideals of Femlandia before all this.
The ‘twist’ of the book was gross and not even especially clever, but don’t worry because it’s all resolved in pretty much the next chapter.
There are some absolutely sublime 1* review for this book on StoryGraph that go in to more detail about why exactly this book is so awful, Id suggest reading them over reading Femlandia - you’ll certainly experience more nuance, structure, and entertainment. My search for a great feminist dystopian story continues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicide, Murder, and Pregnancy
Minor: Transphobia
siriface's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, and Pregnancy
dolken's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Much like The Ones Who Walk Away From Omelass. Both predictable and not. I didn't feel for the MC.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse
ambb's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
I might change this rating 20 more times. I don’t know how to rate this. I don’t know what I just read. What the fuck
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Transphobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia, Miscarriage, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent
madlock18's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
secanno's review against another edition
I found this book and its protagonists difficult to stomach, so I went looking for reviews to see if I should continue reading. From this review it is clear that the book doesn’t get better: https://app.thestorygraph.com/reviews/6269a7f0-8e3c-4703-a2b6-7b554523f39b
Also, it’s possible this changes later in the book, but as far as I can tell, the main characters are all white cis people. The book conflates feminists with misandrists, in a way that is overblown and makes it seem like the norm in feminist movements, rather than an extremist viewpoint held by a select few. And, despite the book’s portrayal of feminism and the patriarchy as two sides of the same unreasonable coin, the author somehow completely ignores the very real, very common power dynamics within feminist movements and how white cis feminism perpetuates racism, ableism, and transphobia. At this point in the book it’s as if Black, Indigenous, and people of color don’t exist, nor do disabled and/or trans/ nonbinary folks.
Also, it’s possible this changes later in the book, but as far as I can tell, the main characters are all white cis people. The book conflates feminists with misandrists, in a way that is overblown and makes it seem like the norm in feminist movements, rather than an extremist viewpoint held by a select few. And, despite the book’s portrayal of feminism and the patriarchy as two sides of the same unreasonable coin, the author somehow completely ignores the very real, very common power dynamics within feminist movements and how white cis feminism perpetuates racism, ableism, and transphobia. At this point in the book it’s as if Black, Indigenous, and people of color don’t exist, nor do disabled and/or trans/ nonbinary folks.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
booktwinning's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse and Sexual assault
shaziareads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
ok this was ..... something. this book takes place in a dystopian america, where money has no value and society has mostly fallen apart. miranda knows she needs to find a safer place to live for her and her daughter emma and after some travel they end up in femlandia - a women-only colony built by miranda's estranged mother, win. in femlandia, life is thriving but things seem off. and this is basically where i started to feel more and more iffy about this book until i was just wanting it to finally end.
i won't go too into my thoughts about this book but overall i just feel like this had so much potential, and instead christina dalcher went about it in the worst way possible. warning that the rest of my review is going to contain spoilers. femlandia is supposed to be a safe haven for all women, and most of its inhabitants are women who have been victims of abuse, violence, and more by the hands of the men in their life. however, win's vision of this perfect place to live was blinded by her pure hatred of men and this is where things got really weird for me, especially since our protagonist miranda was like, an apologist for men? so on one hand we have a character that hates men and claims they are inherently evil, and then on the other hand we have a character that is great but also gives off these heavy "feminists are dumb" vibes. like why ......... couldn't there be a more normal character in this book lol?
i'm kind of bummed out that i didn't like it cause i really do think it could have been a great book. i also felt there were some parts where the writing was weak. i want to end this on a positive note though so i will say that the narrator of the audiobook was really good and i don't normally notice that kind of thing so there's that. i wouldn't recommend this book but if anyone i know happens to read it i would love to discuss.
i won't go too into my thoughts about this book but overall i just feel like this had so much potential, and instead christina dalcher went about it in the worst way possible. warning that the rest of my review is going to contain spoilers. femlandia is supposed to be a safe haven for all women, and most of its inhabitants are women who have been victims of abuse, violence, and more by the hands of the men in their life. however, win's vision of this perfect place to live was blinded by her pure hatred of men and this is where things got really weird for me, especially since our protagonist miranda was like, an apologist for men? so on one hand we have a character that hates men and claims they are inherently evil, and then on the other hand we have a character that is great but also gives off these heavy "feminists are dumb" vibes. like why ......... couldn't there be a more normal character in this book lol?
i'm kind of bummed out that i didn't like it cause i really do think it could have been a great book. i also felt there were some parts where the writing was weak. i want to end this on a positive note though so i will say that the narrator of the audiobook was really good and i don't normally notice that kind of thing so there's that. i wouldn't recommend this book but if anyone i know happens to read it i would love to discuss.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, and Pregnancy
Minor: Domestic abuse and Rape
victoria_catherine_shaw's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment