agenericmirkwoodelf's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful reflective sad medium-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

3.5

3.5 round up! Important story, a few icks! 
I think this is a book that needs to exist. It’s a powerful story with a lot of charm and wit, yet it remains incredibly grounded throughout. It says a lot of things that need to be said, and being semi-autobiographical, every character feels real. 
That said, I do think it handles some issue poorly. Obviously, being autobiographical as it is, the author is free to discuss the protagonist’s issues however he likes. However, I felt like some of the other issues in the book were handled pretty poorly- particularly surrounding the character Penelope. I understand the POV character is an unabashedly thirsty teenage boy, and the narrative style is allowed to reflect that, but it felt absolutely wrong to read about-

 [Spoilers + TW] 


- how “incredibly sexy” this character was immediately after learning she struggled with ED.




That’s just my take, though! :)

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te_ss_i's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-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? No

2.0


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jonwood's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring fast-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

4.0

Read this for an online teaching course. 

The book is a brutally honest look at the life of a kid in a community that is victim of unfair circumstance. His family and neighbors seem trapped in an perpetual self-destructive cycle of alcohol and gambling. It's a depressing reality that many children find them selves stuck in. Even when the protagonist gets to go to a better school, it's revealed a lot of the well to do people have their own problems, which just you shouldn't judge anyone without knowing their story. Deaths and acts of violence are sudden and reflect the pointlessness of it in real life.

In all, I think is a rather reflection and frank discussion on the harsh reality many kids face and a good way for those unaware to that life to become more aware. I suppose the reason I didn't love the book is that the author seems to do a good job capturing the juvenile/bathroom/homophobic humor that reminds too much of the boys would attempt to avoid as an adolescent, and I don't want to spend too much time around people who talk like that. 

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franziska_g's review

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funny hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0


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