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midnightstory'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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Animal death, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexism, and Antisemitism
pam_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
My one complaint: the second act of this book was underwhelming. The story lost steam and started to feel needlessly drawn out. I’m pretty sure we could have cut 100 pages (at least) and still have included all the necessary plot points to bring about the conclusion of the story.
Other than that, I absolutely loved it.
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Incest, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
gaby13'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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, and Self harm
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
zoekyriacou's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, and Classism
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
I didn't get a clear sense of when this was set but I'm guessing that because it references anti-Arab race hatred and Sadam Hussein, that it would have to be about 1991, though most of it feels a little earlier than that. Maybe my perception of it is warped by it having been written before computers and cellphones were ubiquitous.
I was completely culturally at is with a bunch of characters who range from sociopathic to just mildly self-involved, all with a heaping helping of sense of entitlement... all the characters have bad or absent parents which is probably deliberate. These kids are almost adults, similes, and frequently inebriated. They are perfectly ok with tolerating friends as they demonstrate casual disregard for others, drink driving, kleptomania, infidelity, fraud, Racism, Sexism, religious bigotry, and stiffing others for the bill at expensive restaurants. These antics are presented to the narrator as endearing.. again; reliable??
When a classmate goes missing, I as a reader have the ethical question, would I have killed the horrible kid myself?! If I did would that make me a bad person? This kid is demonstrably awful, to mind. Does it matter that he was raised awful, by awful parents, and had a learning disability? Given support could he have improved? Who would have the patience!!!
The book drags. If the scenery had been nice I wouldn't mind so much, but I just wanted to kick all of the characters to the curb. I've been off-the-rails, drunk, clueless, far from home, and made bad decisions. I really liked the part of the story where our narrator has to live in a horrible free room, with a hole in the ceiling, through the coldest winter in ages, and there descriptions of going to common spaces and hanging out at the University because.. it's heated. That I could relate to. But the rest of it...?
I'm not sure why I do this to myself.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Rape
themis_biblos's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
[It was] my own fatal tendency to try to make interesting people good.
The Greeks had a passion for order and symmetry, but they knew how foolish it was to deny emotion, darkness, barbary.
The more cultivated a person is, the more repressed, then the more he needs some method of channeling the primitive impulses he's worked so hard to subdue. Otherwise those powerful old forces will mass and strengthen until they are violent enough to break free, more violent for the delay.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Misogyny, Murder, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Self harm, Blood, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, and Death of parent
shaleen64'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
3.75
The characters are all vastly different and mostly wholly unlikeable, however I found Richard’s drive to fit in relatable but particularly sad when considering the final scenes, and Francis’s character heartbreaking due to his inability to ever be his true self.
The story is much more than a group of rich college students committing crimes, but the true story is written in between the lines and for this reason I think it would be better on a second read or even more so analysing the book.
The only reason I’ve not rated higher is because of how I rank this book with Donna Tartt’s The Goldfinch, but would still recommend it to selected people.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Medical content, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Vomit, Religious bigotry, and Classism
Minor: Rape and Death of parent
sassyjax'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Classism
alastorthewerewolf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Homophobia, Incest, and Mental illness
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Classism
helhas3letters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Not a single one of these characters is likeable (perhaps maybe Georges LaForgue), so I just did not care one bit about what happened to them. And what on earth is with everyone
In terms of the plot, it’s incredibly repetitive and moves frustratingly slowly. Aside from the two or three main events that take place in this story, there is just far too much waiting around, moving back and forth between locations, and nothing happening for my liking. I honestly don’t understand the point of large chunks of this novel, nor certain characters who do not affect the story or world whatsoever.
I thought the ending was pretty bizarre too. Why did it become a
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Racism, Self harm, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Death of parent, Outing, and Classism