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contemporarymeepsie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
I found this book to be relatively compelling in its mystery although it is never solved so if that is what you are looking for then this is not the book for you. The characters were developed to a point (as much as classical literature is) and I found the way Madam Appleyard thought quite humorous although I don't think you are supposed to. I'm not usually a fan of classic literature and this had similar issues to what I normally find such as a slow plodding pace, unrelated information and characters that are annoying. But the mystery was enough to keep me reading and although I knew it remained unresolved, I did have fun reading to the end. If classics are your thing then I would recommend but I won't read it again.
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Vomit, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
heather_freshparchment's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Child death and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs and Vomit
dearbhlanoonan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Graphic: Child death and Death
Minor: Vomit
tacochelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape, Blood, and Vomit
s_l's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I don't think it was built correctly for the ending it had (which - yeah, there was another chapter that got cut, I guess the plan was a bit different), and it's more about the life of people around the disappearance rather than the actual mystery itself but it was still a nice read
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Blood, and Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
ramblingravioli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Moderate: Death, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit
sarah984'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? It's complicated
3.0
The points of view are all well done in terms of having different voices and showing which aspects of what had happened mattered to them. I understand from the introduction that there were originally supernatural elements that were toned down for publication and I think that was a good call.
Due to the setting and the publication date, there are a few things that seem pretty dated, including racially insensitive language and a weird obsession with bullying one of the children for being fat.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Blood
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Child abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Vomit, Medical content, Death of parent, and Murder