2.5 stars

I’m grateful I didn’t have to read this for class, because that means I don’t have to (over)analyze it and I can purge the gory details from memory.

3.5 stars

RTC.

Honestly this doesn't feel like [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] beyond some familiar names and the specific dystopian setup. But that may have made it a more pleasant reading experience for me.

FRTC.

content warnings:

Spoiler

rep:

Spoiler

-----------
CONVERSION: 8.47 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 7 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 5 / 10
Emotional Impact: 3 / 10
Development / Flow: 6 / 10
Setting: 8 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 2 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: N/A

Although the rep is vivid — I can't speak to its accuracy but appreciated the details — and there's some relevant social commentary, as a P&P retelling I found this rather disappointing. FRTC.

content warnings:

Spoiler

secondary character death

rep:

Spoiler

Afro-Latinx (Haitian/Dominican) MC & family, Black love interests, Black secondary & minor characters

-----------
CONVERSION: 8.67 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 4 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 6 / 10
Emotional Impact: 4 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5

I received an advance review copy from the author; all opinions are my own and honest.

Mythology is one of my favorite subjects to read about it, especially when the author manages to make it their own as Krishnan has done here! (The author's commentary following each story is a bit reminiscent of [b:Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|23349901|Percy Jackson's Greek Heroes|Rick Riordan|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1413406290l/23349901._SX50_.jpg|42907836], but intellectual / philosophical rather than snarky.)

I can only imagine how tricky it is to organize so many conflicting versions of so many interwoven, overlapping stories into a coherent narrative, yet Love, Pride, Virtue, and Fate makes it look simple. The four titular themes are explored in various incarnations, along with comparisons to the Christian Bible and Greek mythology; there are also parallels to the Chinese folktales I grew up with, which further supports the author’s point about the similarities across human history and culture.

Overall, this is an engaging read that I think will appeal to readers of any age and any level of prior knowledge of Hinduism; Krishnan has made these stories really accessible without sugarcoating or oversimplifying the messiness inherent to mythology.

3.5 stars

This was fine, I guess? I liked Petunia and I liked Oliver, and I liked getting to check in a bit with Galen, Rose, Poppy, and the rest. Maybe my expectations were too high because this takes inspiration from two of my favorite stories (Red Riding Hood and Robin Hood) yet makes minimal use of either, instead rehashing previous events and conflicts. It's as heteronormative and simplistic as the previous two, which I guess could partially be chalked up to the fairy-tale genre?

For readers who enjoyed the previous two books, this will probably be a fairly satisfying series finale. But it doesn't really bring anything new, imo.

-----------
CONVERSION: 9.27 / 15 = 3.5 stars

Prose: 6 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 7 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 7 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: N/A
Intellectual Engagement: 2 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 4 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 2 / 5

I'm really starting to come around on short story collections — although I didn't really "get" some of these (and I've always tended to read more fantasy than sci-fi), they're all masterfully crafted. The variety of settings and prose styles is genuinely awe-inspiring; the rep also spans the spectrum, from "just a footnote" to "the focus of the story", and encompasses diverse experiences as well.

Although I previously DNF'd an audiobook of one, this anthology definitely has me interested in reading more of Jemisin's works!

rep:

Spoiler

Black MCs, Asian & Asian-American minor characters, diverse minor characters

-----------
CONVERSION: 11.8 / 15 = 4 stars

Prose: 8 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 8 / 10
Emotional Impact: 6 / 10
Development / Flow: 7 / 10
Setting: 10 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 5 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: 3 / 5
Memorability: 4 / 5

I don't want to be insensitive or talk over #ownvoices readers, and I certainly don't dispute that this is an important issue that isn't being discussed or covered anywhere near as much as it should. By all means you should seek out #ownvoices reviews, because their opinions will be much better substantiated than mine — I won't be talking much about the drug war/its role in this book because of this.

With that caveat, the angle taken in this book bothers me. It felt like it was more about Jay and his privilege bubble being forcibly punctured over and over until he finally accepts that (shockingly) he isn't always right about everything. Even towards the end, it seemed Jay was stuck in his own preconceptions instead of listening to the people around him, but at the same time Ribay seemed to trying to portray Jay as being in the wrong when doing so, which made it difficult to understand why Jay thought or said or did what he did, and why he changes his mind when he does.

The morality also seemed Westernized, simplified/binary — not to say that one side or the other is right/wrong (because although I am generally opposed to mass killings and non-systemic "solutions" to social issues, I know very little about the drug war and my family isn't from the Philippines), but it felt like little to no consideration was given to any other viewpoints than Jay's. Specifically,

Spoiler

Jun's father

is portrayed as being Completely Wrong About Everything; not a moment's thought is given to his possible motives for his actions and beliefs beyond a vague assertion that he's a Bad Person [but not unredeemable, because he's family].

The character relationships felt very flat — beyond the obligatory family ties and camaraderie between young people with shared beliefs, I just wasn't sold on any of it. Particularly the kind-of-sort-of romance, which I thought was underdeveloped and, quite frankly, unnecessary.

I also didn't quite get on with the prose. There's a bit too much play-by-play which makes scenes drag, more showing than telling of emotions ("for some reason, I start feeling really fucking sad" — direct quote). Pulling chapter/section titles from the end of said chapter/section is an interesting choice, but it was almost like every chapter/section therefore had to end on a profound philosophical note or piece of metaphor or loaded imagery to make it work. Which I found to be a bit much, particularly with

Spoiler

the penultimate chapter, the last titled section, which contains the book title tie-in

.

content warnings:

Spoiler

mentions of police brutality & violence, racism, colorism, homophobia, animal deaths (newborn puppies, goats butchered for food), underage drinking and pot use, borderline emotional infidelity

rep:

Spoiler

biracial Filipino-American MC & family, biracial Chinese/Filipino minor character, WLW Filipina major characters, bi/pan Filipina minor character, F/F established relationships, MLM Filipino minor character, mentioned M/M relationship

-----------
CONVERSION: 8.1 / 15 = 3 stars

Prose: 3 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 5 / 10
Development / Flow: 4 / 10
Setting: 9 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 4 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: N/A
Originality / Trope Execution: N/A
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 3 / 5

content warnings:

Spoiler

eugenics, ableism, classism, racism (incl. anti-Black and anti-Indigenous slurs), fatphobia, slut-shaming, brainwashing, drug addiction/dependency, normalized sexualization of children, literal self-flagellation, secondary character death(s), mention of dead dog

Honestly, I just don't get it — and I don't think there's any shame in admitting this. I can certainly see why it's a popular choice for English classes, with all the social commentary and symbolism and Shakespeare and whatnot, but it's primarily concept-driven which really is not my cup of tea.

The characters are flat, their motives and concerns are rudimentary, and I was confused by the way different scenes alternate throughout chapters. (It works in some movies, and the occasional book, but in this case not so much.)

There are some interesting concepts, of course, yet despite the heavy exposition (at both the beginning and end of the narrative) I was still confused by the logic behind the dystopian setup: since all babies come from extracted gametes, for example, what's the point of sterilizing seventy percent of the female embryos but leaving all the males as-is? (Aside from systemic misogyny, but unlike in [b:The Handmaid's Tale|38447|The Handmaid's Tale (The Handmaid's Tale, #1)|Margaret Atwood|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1578028274l/38447._SY75_.jpg|1119185] it just doesn't make sense to me.) How exactly do these "freemartins" fit into the sex-obsessed social system? Given the heavy-handed authoritarian oversight, why do Native American reservations still exist, allowed to uphold their traditions?

I'm willing to accept the idea that these questions and others do make sense on some level that I just can't seem to wrap my head around. They're just examples of the bemusement that kept me from buying into the worldbuilding.

And beyond the worldbuilding, I just didn't get much out of reading this book.

-----------
CONVERSION: 5.85 / 15 = 2 stars

Prose: 5 / 10
Characters & Relationships: 2 / 10
Emotional Impact: 2 / 10
Development / Flow: 3 / 10
Setting: 6 / 10

Diversity & Social Themes: 2 / 5
Intellectual Engagement: 4 / 5
Originality / Trope Execution: 2 / 5
Rereadability: N/A
Memorability: 1 / 5