I enjoyed this for what it was & also in ways I didn’t expect- it was humorous, but it also made me a bit emotional. I wish that I had learned more about other characters like Miri & even Cherry’s mom. It also would’ve been cool to have even more clowning or insight into Cherry’s history with it.

I’m not sure if it’ll stick with me, but it was a quick read, and I haven’t read about a clown before so that was new. It felt like a slice of life overall which I enjoyed.

I’m conflicted with this one, but I think it felt like a 2.5-3 star read for me. I loved the concept, but I didn’t enjoy the execution & it took me a few weeks to get through. I didn’t like the pacing since there’s a lot of info dumping at the start and then many pages of sexual violence. That was the reality though, so it shouldn’t be ignored, but I do have some criticisms outside of that.

Around the 40% mark, it seems like there’s finally going to be justice, but then the plot slows down further to show the MC getting trained on his powers. A lot of these scenes read like YA which was jarring.

I would’ve liked to have learned more about the other characters outside of the violence inflicted on them constantly. I understand that was the reality, and it should be included, but it was difficult to feel connected to the plot since that’s most of what we’re shown. Most of the graphic sexual assaults came across as having been used to build up the MC’s arc, and I wouldn’t have felt that way if there had been more characterization outside of these scenes. It was nice though having Gertie’s POVs and seeing a younger woman get her justice- I would’ve enjoyed having more of those POVs.

While this wasn’t for me, I still think it’s a great premise & I appreciate the author’s intent. I would still recommend it to those who are interested! Just be aware of major TW’s before going into this (obviously).

I will not be going up any staircases in the woods lest I become bored for eternity

I really enjoyed this tbh & I almost DNF’d in the first 15% because of how unbearable the writing style felt. The plot starts off slow, and the prose from Alice about Tom, her obsession, is exhausting & ridiculous. That’s definitely intentional, but it was a rough start.

I thought she wasn’t going to have much depth to her character, but after the 20% mark, she started to feel more real to me- still incredibly unlikeable, but interesting.

The plot picks up too, and I was entertained while witnessing her horrible behavior. She was selfish and spiteful, downright heinous at times, but she didn’t feel like a caricature. There was info revealed at the end that I would’ve liked to have seen earlier on since I think it would’ve helped the pace and with Alice’s backstory.

I can see how a lot of people hate this, the writing is so over the top and it’s god awful being in Alice’s distorted world. By the end though, I ended up loving this.

I think a fiction or fantasy book could depict a more realistic scenario than this, and I don’t even mean that sarcastically or to be a jerk.

I was going to rate this 2.5-3 stars because I found some of it interesting, and I was swept up in the horror throughout it. After sitting with it though, this was a very US centric book that lacked wider historical & sociological substance.

In this scenario, North Korea starts launching nuclear weapons at the U.S. out of nowhere and for no reason. The author even acknowledges how illogical this is to do. She continues waving it away, but then she proposes it’s because they were offended that the U.S. showed a picture of North Korea having no electricity or light compared to South Korea. They wanted to put an end to the planet and reduce the world to scavenging for insects- just like North Koreans are now (this is the author’s words, not mine).

Nuclear war is horrifying, but I don’t know if this is the author to write a book about it. A scenario where the US is hit out of nowhere and for a reason that petty lacks depth & awareness. Sure, that could happen in any imagined scenario, but it still really lacked basic logic even when nuclear war is illogical.

I really liked the intent with this & bringing attention to British colonization in a MG/YA book. The perspectives of those living under colonization is often ignored or erased, so I appreciated the author’s message.

After the first 30% though, the plot wasn’t really working for me and I was having a hard time staying engaged.

who the hell is this woman & why am I supposed to care? She was so boring to me, everything was boring. I can see what Cline was going for, but it didn’t land for me. I was going to give 2.5 stars but honestly I was bored to the point of being angry