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loverrbboy's review against another edition
4.75
this loses .25 ONLY BECAUSE i think that the content warning “contains discussions of suicide and depression” DOES NOT CUT IT in a book where you are following a protagonist who is literally about to off herself on the first page.
ripped my shit wide open, got me to talk about my own mental health history in certain terms with my dear friend, and got me to cry through the wall of testosterone, like properly REALLY cry.
recommend for anyone who has lived their life similarly “high functioning” but without the strength to be soft and love more - just dear god be gentle with yourself❤️
ripped my shit wide open, got me to talk about my own mental health history in certain terms with my dear friend, and got me to cry through the wall of testosterone, like properly REALLY cry.
recommend for anyone who has lived their life similarly “high functioning” but without the strength to be soft and love more - just dear god be gentle with yourself❤️
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders
123iloveyouiloveyou's review against another edition
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
the_true_monroe's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.0
Wow. I had this book on my wish list for a couple of months before it came out and read it as soon as I could. The amount of emotions that overcame me reading this are more than almost every book has exceeded, probably since I related so much to at least one piece of Avery, Cass, Aisha, Peter and Georgia but especially Avery. The way she describes her experiences with depression and suicidal ideation, and it’s progression, was so similar to my own experiences- it really got into the nitty gritty rather than just the overarching theme of depression and suicide. The representation from an LGBTQIA+, race/ ethnicity and religious perspective was also wonderful.
The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that it took me a while to get into the book and I was confused at first with all of the characters being mentioned, prior to the character development which ended up being phenomenal.
Something else I liked about this book were the realistic portrayals of families who love each other so much, and would do anything for each other but also can cause irreversible harm to their loved ones and be a major source of trauma.
Also, while the “doomsday” plot is used a lot, the way the impending world destruction was incorporated into the plot was unique as in the book did not center around the asteroid and a journey of survival but rather it centers around family, friendship, reasons for living, and doing what is best for yourself.
The only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is that it took me a while to get into the book and I was confused at first with all of the characters being mentioned, prior to the character development which ended up being phenomenal.
Something else I liked about this book were the realistic portrayals of families who love each other so much, and would do anything for each other but also can cause irreversible harm to their loved ones and be a major source of trauma.
Also, while the “doomsday” plot is used a lot, the way the impending world destruction was incorporated into the plot was unique as in the book did not center around the asteroid and a journey of survival but rather it centers around family, friendship, reasons for living, and doing what is best for yourself.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Lesbophobia, Suicide attempt, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Pregnancy, Outing, Confinement, Gun violence, Bullying, Blood, Abandonment, Cancer, Panic attacks/disorders, and Cursing
bryonyindecisivereader's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
“I thought, I would hold your hand through anything. Even the dangerous things. Even the hard things. I always want to be your best friend. For the rest of the summer. For the rest of my life.”
CONTENT NOTICE: This book contains discussions of suicide, mental health and homophobia. There are no graphic scenes of this content actually happening, just awareness of and conversations about it. A central character deals with undiagnosed clinical depression.
I was so tense reading this book. There’s a countdown to the end of the world and the characters are trying to find a way to survive, whilst also trying to live what they have left. It was a very strange feeling to be so tense and happy and sad and hopeful all at once, so props to the author for achieving it.
Avery is a sad character. She’s depressed and lonely and doesn’t know how to ask for help. She’s spent her whole life being bright and brilliant and the best and, when finally left on her own, she doesn’t know how to cope. She doesn’t want to disappoint anyone so she bottles it up and makes it worse. I wanted to give her a hug, but I don’t think she’d take it. She just needed to learn to be loved by those who already love her.
I think the author really carefully created this sense of impending doom. I kind of didn’t want to read on, knowing it was all about to come crumbling down. (I did start reading it on holiday but had to put it down because I was a plane flight away from Sam and then I got really stressed about what I would do if I suddenly couldn’t get home to him because the world was ending.) It was hard to feel any hope at the start, I guess because Avery doesn’t feel it, but you start to feel it at the end.
I loved the family the author created and this overwhelming sense of love that Avery gets surrounded by. Each character was important to her and you came to love them too. However, with the inclusions of flashbacks (still counting down) you had another sense of tension, knowing that Avery couldn’t always feel comfortable in her family.
I was really sad towards the end, but I did really enjoy it. I think the ending was perfect, ambiguous and hopeful and peaceful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Pandemic/Epidemic, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
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