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thekaylie's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
ambb's review against another edition
- 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
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
lsbonnie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I'm not saying that this book is perfect, but I like that it got me questioning, sometimes agreeing with one side, sometimes with the other, sometimes leaving me not knowing what to think.
I couldn't put the book down. The story was gripping, and sometimes very intense, a real page turner. I don't know if I'm really into the dystopian genre, but as a feminist I was excited to read this.
I like that the characters are deeply flawed therefore deeply human. Let's take Miranda, the main character. At times, yes, she is frustrating because she doesn't get the need for feminism, was a kept woman and because she understands why Nick did what he did. But at times she is also angry at him and at men, she is not completely blind. She has a very moderate point of view when it comes to feminism, it's true, but surprise surprise, it's still the case of many women nowadays. A lot of them don't really have problems with men, or they roll their eyes playfully at them and their antics, without thinking much about it. They know there is violence against women, including sexual, but they don't see it as being spread in the whole world. They don't get it, as Win would say. Maybe they're blind or society (men?) made them blind, maybe they're not educated enough, maybe they think it's normal ("hardwired"), maybe they accept their situation and are happy with it (what's wrong with being a kept woman if you enjoy it?). But these women exist, and there are many of them.
Also, can you really blame Miranda for her difficult relationship with feminism/her mother, when
Win too is a complicated character. Yes her view of the world is extreme and raises issues. But I also understand why she
Contrary to what some people wrote in the reviews, I don't think that the author's point was to say "boo extreme feminism is bad!" or that "men are good, poor men, mean women". I honestly think Christina Dalcher wanted to question what kind of world is possible, what we want, how far we would go in our thinking.
I do agree with people saying that the "big" twist was a bit predictable, but I still think that it is worth a read. Be mindful of the content warnings, though.
About the epilogue:
As we got closer to the ending, I imagined something like just a few years later. With boys reintroduced in the society, turning into teenagers then men, would violence and sexual assault against women happen again? And how would that be handled by the society?
Alternatively I imagined the boys/teenagers/men living within Femlandia, but being second-class citizens, at least for the next generations as they would still be wary of men. But this could have carried on, just like in our world women have been treated as second-class citizens for generations/centuries.
Graphic: Transphobia and Violence
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Pregnancy
Minor: Miscarriage, Sexual assault, and Suicide
About transphobia in the book:shaziareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
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.
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
- 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
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
audra_spiven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
lpdx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
dhumphries's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Rape, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Trafficking, Abortion, and Pregnancy