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youthofpandas'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
2.5
Graphic: Grief, Addiction, Violence, Drug abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Drug use, Car accident, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
Minor: Police brutality, Racism, and Infertility
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Confinement, Deadnaming, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Toxic friendship, Transphobia, Violence, Death, Death of parent, Stalking, Torture, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Outing
thenageler's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? No
4.0
Graphic: Addiction
Moderate: Murder, Infertility, Death, Drug abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, and Drug use
annahamburger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, and Classism
Minor: Confinement, Dysphoria, Infertility, Transphobia, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Cursing, Dementia, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Blood, and Infidelity
izypup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, Sexual assault, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence
Minor: Murder, Transphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cursing, Violence, Dysphoria, Infidelity, and Infertility
molthetroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
Minor: Infertility
scarlett_f'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
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Cursing, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Death of parent, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Murder, Toxic relationship, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, and Violence
lexkazokas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Death of parent, Violence, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Murder, Addiction, and Death
Moderate: Body horror and Blood
sarah_j90's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Gaslighting, Grief, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Kidnapping, and Violence
Minor: Child death
its_erin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The scariest things in this book are the main character's decisions.
I picked this up hoping for a chilling read, something unsettling. While this did not hit the mark for me, it may for others.
It's a slow build. And by slow I mean that halfway in I still struggled to stay invested and wanted to put it down. I feel that this disinterest comes down to a few factors:
1) I didn't find the main character compelling or, at times, likeable. She could be grating, and often times her thoughts and actions were scarier than any of the pictures.
2) The build to a climax was nonexistent for most of the book. It was hard to understand what was happening, where the plot was leading, or what was trying to be accomplished. And this wasn't in the fun "keep ya guessing" way, it was just in the poorly written way.
3) The writing style wasn't my favorite. Writing in first-person was a stylistic choice that I don't think paid off, and choosing to do "reveals" about the main character's background 75% of the way in was a disservice to the character.
I will say that the most compelling character was Caroline - who is not the main character - and that was only at the end. Otherwise, it's hard to say if this is a ghost story, a treatise on addiction, or a grimm's fairytale about liberals gone bad.
Graphic: Kidnapping, Murder, Violence, and Addiction
Moderate: Xenophobia, Drug abuse, and Toxic relationship