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atamano'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
2.0
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Death of parent, Child death, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
jkononova's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I had a couple gripes with the writing, mainly that, in my opinion, it fell a bit too into the "tell, not show" category, which felt deeply ironic and out-of-place for a book so centered around quality literature. Additionally, there seemed to be a lack of commas after introductory clauses, which made the book somewhat challenging to read out loud, especially with how long-winded some of the sentences were (not sure if this is just a problem with the Libby version of the book).
Minor: Death, Child abuse, Death of parent, Drug use, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, and Adult/minor relationship
soft_plush's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Drug use, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Cursing, Grief, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Alcohol and Cursing
dexkit10's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Emotional abuse, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Murder, Child death, Death, and Fire/Fire injury
gabyjo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Pregnancy, Drug abuse, Addiction, and Death
londonsetterby'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? It's complicated
3.0
Moderate: Gaslighting, Murder, Stalking, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit
Death from anaphylactic food allergykcelena's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Death, Murder, Stalking, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Addiction, Drug use, and Suicide
sibertooth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
What's so fun about this book is that it starts out as a bog-standard MFA Dramedy – you know, with the stalled next novel and the awful student stories and all that – and then turns into a thriller while, to all appearances, keeping the MFA Dramedy scope and stakes. It is genuinely tense and gripping to read about this guy worrying that he's bargained away his self-respect and is about to lose his career.
It gets more conventional later on, and I guessed both big twists (the one in the main story and the one in the within-a-story) somewhat in advance, but that's an expected part of the thriller-reading experience, right?
Tone-wise (as opposed to plot-wise), the ending did seem to come out of left field, and that soured things a tiny bit for me. But this is still a heck of a ride.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Stalking, Vomit, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, and Suicide
Minor: Sexism, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
ben_jammin's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Minor: Abortion, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, and Child death
hannahleewhite's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Murder and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Pregnancy, Adult/minor relationship, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction and Drug abuse