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katesmiles's review against another edition
challenging
dark
fast-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? It's complicated
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore, Religious bigotry, and Body horror
attackrat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
bloody and raw and painful, this book is like pulling out a splinter. god I can’t wait to read the next one
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Deadnaming, Body horror, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, and Violence
jessisbest330's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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? It's complicated
3.0
redus_reuse_recycle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
reflective
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
3.5
Benji is the epitome of that “Aren’t you tired of being nice? Don’t you just wanna go apeshit?” And I love that for him. I hope he and Nick kiss forever and ever.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Pandemic/Epidemic, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, and Body horror
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
cryptid_crow's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
4.0
An unrelenting, brutal, vibrantly livid queer and trans rage offering.
pacifickat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-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? No
4.25
*review to follow*
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Child death, Confinement, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Misogyny, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Deadnaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Pandemic/Epidemic, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Cursing, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Classism
Religious extremism, religious fanaticism, religious terrorism, mass extinction, disease transmission, misgendering, fundamentalist parents, biblical text quotations, the book of Revelation, end times theology, violent rage, guilt, shame, fear, religious indoctrinationmirrorslament's review against another edition
2.0
i really, really wanted to like this book. the concept is sick. the execution just… wasn’t. maybe part of it was that this book wasn’t presented to me as YA, but the writing feels jarringly juvenile. and not just juvenile, but like reading fanfic on tumblr back in 2013. i love fanfic. i write fanfic. but reading this felt like better-than-average fanfic at best, and had me begrudgingly trudging forward at worst.
i think my biggest struggle with the book is that i’m a big character reader, and the characters just felt flat and fake. there was no real emotion to anything. i was just being told how i should feel, how sad everything was. i’m not even certain i got the horror that was promised. body horror, sure. gore, yes. but at no point did i ever feel a glimmer of fear. in fact, i didn’t feel anything but vague boredom.
even the way the characters were introduced often felt off to me. as though they were a parody of queer kids, not actually queer. like the author made poc characters poc just to tick boxes, not because the representation mattered to him. and that’s likely uncharitable of me— it just comes across that way because not a single one of them had even a modicum of depth. they had a skin colour, they told us their pronouns, and some of them told us their religions. we were duly informed of their relationship status. and then… nothing, really. they were just there.
i kept checking how much of the book was left because it felt like it went on forever, without almost anything actually happening. there were like three subplots that could’ve been cut and wouldn’tve changed anything. there was so much stereotypical tumblr-esque talk that i, an avid and current user of tumblr, had to put my phone down and walk away so i didn’t give myself a migraine from rolling my eyes so hard. the whole book could’ve been half the length it was.
i’m giving it two stars for cool concepts and because i managed to keep reading, even though i kept nearly just DNFing it. in some ways, this feels like a first draft. i can see glimmers of possibility. i can see what it could’ve been. but that’s not what it ended up being.
i think my biggest struggle with the book is that i’m a big character reader, and the characters just felt flat and fake. there was no real emotion to anything. i was just being told how i should feel, how sad everything was. i’m not even certain i got the horror that was promised. body horror, sure. gore, yes. but at no point did i ever feel a glimmer of fear. in fact, i didn’t feel anything but vague boredom.
even the way the characters were introduced often felt off to me. as though they were a parody of queer kids, not actually queer. like the author made poc characters poc just to tick boxes, not because the representation mattered to him. and that’s likely uncharitable of me— it just comes across that way because not a single one of them had even a modicum of depth. they had a skin colour, they told us their pronouns, and some of them told us their religions. we were duly informed of their relationship status. and then… nothing, really. they were just there.
i kept checking how much of the book was left because it felt like it went on forever, without almost anything actually happening. there were like three subplots that could’ve been cut and wouldn’tve changed anything. there was so much stereotypical tumblr-esque talk that i, an avid and current user of tumblr, had to put my phone down and walk away so i didn’t give myself a migraine from rolling my eyes so hard. the whole book could’ve been half the length it was.
i’m giving it two stars for cool concepts and because i managed to keep reading, even though i kept nearly just DNFing it. in some ways, this feels like a first draft. i can see glimmers of possibility. i can see what it could’ve been. but that’s not what it ended up being.
erika_lin's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
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? It's complicated
5.0
charliew_23's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.25