Reviews tagging 'Drug abuse'

Happy & You Know It by Laura Hankin

9 reviews

marissanbullis's review against another edition

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dark funny tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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poisonpotion's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

Pros:
  • Book was fun at times and easy to read writing.
  • First half of the book was engaging to read with all the drama and getting into the rich lifestyles of the mother characters.
  • Amara was the only character I found to be the most decent out of everyone. She had issues and frustrations anyone could understand or relate when it came to being a mother and wondering the right way to raising your child.
  • Claire and Amara’s friendship was endearing at times. I enjoyed the relationship between her and her husband and their struggles. 

Cons: 
  • Felt a bit preachy at times. Most of the women (not counting Claire) seem to have pretty decent lives, so it’s hard to take their complaints seriously as if they’re living such a rough life. The only character to having a tough life was Amara and maybe Gwen since her husband is a wreck. 
  • I did not care about the
    TrueMommy situation
    (the real conflict of the book) at all. I forgot all about it and still wasn’t that interested in it when it was brought up again. Unfortunately, it ended up being a huge part of the story around the end with the twist that
    Gwen was behind TrueMommy the whole time. Maybe if there was more time with Gwen or giving this drug thing a bit more spotlight, maybe these turn of events wouldn’t feel like whiplash.
     
  • I didn’t understand with the whole “we’re humans and we make mistakes” lesson in the book since everyone gets pissed at
    Gwen and acted much more aggressive towards her compared to the other things the other characters did. Like Amara letting out Claire’s incredibly deep secret and Whitney sleeping with Gwen’s husband. Tho, at least Whitney gets divorced but I’m still annoyed how she’s still friends with everyone.
     
  • The other mothers were pointless and not memorable since they didn’t get as much spotlight as Whitney, Amara, and somewhat Gwen.

Overall:
This was an overall ‘meh’ experience. Not really that bad and had some enjoyable moments, but I wouldn’t come back to reread it. I was expecting a book filled with over the top, ridiculous drama. Sadly, there was only a few of those while the rest was mostly dull. Especially the true ‘conflict’ of the book. I stopped caring around the end...

Favorite Quote:
“But, and I mean this in the nicest way possible, don’t wait forever to get your shit together, all right? Life only gives you so many chances.” -Amara (Page: 137)
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alykate's review against another edition

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lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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phippsmr's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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chargriffith's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful lighthearted relaxing fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Really surprised by how much I enjoyed this. I thought it would be a nice palette cleansing book. But I found I could not put it down.
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juliaureads's review against another edition

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funny lighthearted mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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ohhthehorrors's review against another edition

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mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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erinhanso's review against another edition

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funny hopeful medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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becksreading's review against another edition

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funny mysterious fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I’m usually not someone who goes for mom drama, but the premise here caught me. I do not relate to the mom-related issues that came up, but it was fascinating to see these very vividly written women through the eyes of their group musician. The multiple POVs help build intrigue with who knew what, and the twist was good. 
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