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meg43735's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
I really was grateful that each chapter switched times from past to present, because the past was so so hard to swallow. The present day chapters were like a pallette cleanser. Doing this also helped to build some of the tension of EACH timeline. I really liked it.
The only reason it is not a 5 star rating is because of the "romance" story. It was a little unnecessary, though not necessarily bad...? Idk
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual violence, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
hannahsarah92's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Miscarriage
ncholmes2022's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.0
It switches between two points of view: Rill, a kidnapped child during the depression, and Avery, a modern day lawyer and politician.
The prose was lovely and well written.
Some of the content was rough to read, particularly the child abuse and pedophilia.
I also did not care for the relationship subplot in Avery's point of view and felt like it bordered on justifying emotional infidelity. I also felt like she had too many subplots going on at once, but maybe that let the reader feel the stress and busyness of her life.
I did see good character development in both her and Rill.
Overall this was a powerful book, and I would recommend it to those who can handle the content warnings below.
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Trafficking, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Classism
cats_and_needles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Miscarriage, Slavery, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide attempt
nataliecoyne's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Second was how Wingate got across the character's accents. I understood the choice, I really did, and I think this can really bring a story together when done well. But, with this, some of the additions and some of the taking things out made some dialogue hard to understand.
Again, as for the overall content of this novel, I really enjoyed it and I think this is a dark period of history that others should know about. I'm not entirely sure if I'm going to read the book's nonfiction companion piece, but I am seriously considering it. But I couldn't bring myself to give it a higher rating, unfortunately.
Graphic: Child abuse, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Alcoholism, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
syrah78's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
I could not put down this novel. Avery could not discover the truth fast enough for me. Wingate really brought to life this hidden tragedy in American history. It was heart wrenching and just awful as each sibling disappeared from Rill. All the characters were given a really nice depth and the river was beautifully written. I met the author who wrote this book and she said that she always gives you a happy ending, so I had to just keep telling myself that and the ending really was nice.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
megan_george's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Physical abuse
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Child death, Emotional abuse, Infertility, Miscarriage, Kidnapping, and Grief
sjanke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Alcohol
abbyynormal's review against another edition
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Infertility, Miscarriage, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
jmiles758's review against another edition
- 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: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism