You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Scan barcode
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Violence, and Pregnancy
Minor: Infertility, Vomit, Car accident, Abortion, and Alcohol
mkgfencer's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I’ve never hated any book character as much as I hated the antagonist.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Vomit and Trafficking
looseleafellie's review
5.0
This was a quick and thought-provoking read! I love main characters who are kind of nasty people, and Evelyn is no exception. Really, there are no good people in this book, but I loved the exploration of how people’s bad behaviors can stem from the way people have treated them.
This is, on the surface, a story about misogyny. The way Evelyn’s husband creates a partner to his own specifications mirrors the way that misogyny is often rooted in the desire to make women conform to the standards men and society have set for them.
However, the ethical issues explored in the story go deeper than that. The main plot of Evelyn trying to work with her clone to cover up her husband’s death is interspersed with flashbacks to Evelyn’s own childhood. The parallels between the way people treat Evelyn’s clone and the way Evelyn’s father treated her mother raise some interesting questions about not just misogyny, but about nature vs nurture, how people can change depending on the amount of agency they’re afforded, and what counts as the “real” version of someone.
The ending of the book doesn’t fully tie up many of the moral questions inherent in the story, but that leaves the reader open to fill in some of the blanks themselves. Overall, if you’re in the mood for something dark, speculative, cerebral, and quietly thriller-like, you might want to check this out!
CWs: Murder, blood, misogyny, loss of bodily autonomy, domestic abuse recounted, cheating, vomit.
Spice level: None.
Graphic: Misogyny, Blood, and Vomit
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, and Murder
taylor13's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
nyoom's review
- 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
0.25
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Infertility, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
msjenne's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Misogyny, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Physical abuse, Suicide, and Pregnancy
emptychurches's review
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Blood, Medical content, and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Ableism, Body horror, Misogyny, Vomit, Abortion, and Alcohol
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is a well-paced thriller which doles out disturbing news just often enough to be unsettling. Evelyn's descriptions consistently bury the lede, pondering first the reactions and consequences to some very important piece of information before finally circling back to say what caused the fuss in the first place. It reshapes the weight of these moments to emphasize how dealing with each horrible (and sometimes not so horrible) event affects those who remain. It's disassociation in book form, as if Evelyn isn't ready to look at what's going on and must approach everything at an angle in order to have any chance of reaching it at all. I especially love the complex discussions about the ethics of cloning, the difference between what Nathan did and what Evelyn does, if there is one.
It's about healing, clawing back by inches what was taken and filling in new things where the old bits are lost forever. Figuring out what bits of Evelyn and Martine belong to themselves, leaving space for them to want different things even though they started out as the same person. It's shaped by the absence of an abuser, the gap left behind by someone who demanded that every thought fit his needs.
Graphic: Death, Blood, and Medical content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide, Abortion, and Death of parent
Contains a staged suicide.amressing's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Vomit
nxclx's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Car accident and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit