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ellianderjoy's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism and Religious bigotry
Minor: Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Racism, Biphobia, and Classism
wardenred's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Chloe’s favorite stories are the ones where the headstrong young woman on a cinematic journey to master her powers falls for the monster who’s been antagonizing her all along.
Well. Wow. I guess there is a first time for everything: I've encountered a Casey McQuiston book that I didn't really like. And it's such a damn pity, because I've been looking forward to reading it for so long, and by all intents and purposes, this should have been the book for me. I mean, a small town of doom that the MC is looking to escape, except this close to graduation she starts getting tangled up in stuff here more than ever? Religious trauma? A messy queer cast? Academic rivals to lovers? A mystery with a treasure hunt for answers set up by the missing person herself? All of this is my jam. I expected to love all of this. And yet, the book and I, we've never quite clicked.
I think the problem here is that, just like RWRB and One Last Stop, this is a highly character-driven novel (also my jam nearly 100% of the time). Except, unlike with RWRB and One Last Stop, this time I just didn't connect with the main character at all. Chloe was just so unlikable, and not in a fun way. So for a big part of the way, I kept pushing through just because I was curious about the resolution to the central mystery, and also because there were other characters who truly shined for me whenever they showed up on page. Georgia and Rory absolutely captured my heart, and while Smith took a bit of time to grow on me, I became a big fan of his eventually. (I do keep wanting to call him Finn in my head, though. Honestly, if anyone tries to tell me this entire novel isn't rooted in Faberry fanfiction, I'll just laugh—I've sunk too many hours of my life down the Glee tag on AO3 to buy that).
But, well, Chloe... I don't know, I just didn't like it in her head, nor did I find her interesting. There's that one scene about two thirds into the story where she's talking to her Moms and explaining to them what it's like to be her, and that was the one instance where I found her compelling and sympathetic... or rather, the her she was describing. Because I didn't quite feel like the things she was talking about and the things that I witnessed from reading an entire book from her perspective were the same. Similar, yes, but not identical. I think I would have enjoyed her entire story much more if what I was shown matched what I was told in that scene.
That said, there's a lot of cool stuff packed here. A lot of cool characters, too—maybe even too many. I kept wishing for multiple POVs, not just small snippets from other characters' schoolwork drafts, notes, and such. It would have been so cool to see Georgia's, Rory's, Smith's, Benjy's perspectives on some of the events—and Shara's, too, especially closer to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Minor: Biphobia and Racism
stormeno's review
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, Sexual harassment, and Lesbophobia
pandemonicbaby's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.75
I really did enjoy this book!! Stayed up late and ignored my duties to finish it.
I just wished it had touched more on themes of religious trauma and the inner thoughts and feelings of other characters (specifically shara), but i get why that wouldn't be possible considering chloe is the main character and also the religious trauma in itself wasn't the main focus of the book (mostly its consequences). Overall great book!!
I just wished it had touched more on themes of religious trauma and the inner thoughts and feelings of other characters (specifically shara), but i get why that wouldn't be possible considering chloe is the main character and also the religious trauma in itself wasn't the main focus of the book (mostly its consequences). Overall great book!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, and Homophobia
Moderate: Lesbophobia and Emotional abuse
Minor: Alcohol, Biphobia, Death, and Racism
theuncannydani's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Homophobia, and Misogyny
Minor: Alcohol and Drug use
owliglot's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Biphobia, Homophobia, and Dysphoria
Minor: Misogyny, Bullying, and Outing
nxpe's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
4.0
I really enjoyed this book.
I went into this being in a mustery/thriller mood, and I wad hoping that would fuel my want to read it. It did not. I ended up not really caring about finding Shara at all. But, I ended up caring for the characters a lot more than I thought I would.
I loved that all of the characters were so unique and diverse. I really enjoyed watching the struggle and cope through the effect of being queer in a not-so-accwpring community. I liked that all of the characters were grey with layers, rather than one-sided and perfect. I thought that the issues and queerhood as a whole were touched on very well.
And then what a surprise to find out that this was also a rivals to lovers romance. I has no idea there would be a romance, and was pleasantly surprised. Shara and Chloe are a weird couple but I do think they work somehow.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and am happy I decided to pick it up.
I went into this being in a mustery/thriller mood, and I wad hoping that would fuel my want to read it. It did not. I ended up not really caring about finding Shara at all. But, I ended up caring for the characters a lot more than I thought I would.
I loved that all of the characters were so unique and diverse. I really enjoyed watching the struggle and cope through the effect of being queer in a not-so-accwpring community. I liked that all of the characters were grey with layers, rather than one-sided and perfect. I thought that the issues and queerhood as a whole were touched on very well.
Overall, I really enjoyed this and am happy I decided to pick it up.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, and Biphobia
pau_line's review against another edition
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
fast-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Tatensächlicherweise hab ich keine ahnung, wie ich das buch bewerten soll haha
Es war total anders, als ich erwartet habe, wobei ich so gemischte gefühle dem gegenüber hatte.
Der Schreibstil war erfrischend, die Perspektive und die Zwischeneinschübe/"Notizen" waren auch ganz cool.
Es war echt interessant duech den Rahmen, in den das ganze gepackt wurde, weil
1. Shara verschwindet und hinterlässt Hinweise so à la Schnitzeljagd
2. die Kombination zwischen ultrachristlicher Kleinstadt und Charakteren, die nicht der Norm entsprechen, rausfinden, wer sie sind und wer sie sein wollen
Aber ich muss leider auch sagen, dass ich die Nebenfiguren zwar allesamt richtig gerne mochte, Chloe und Shara (die beiden Hauptfiguren) in meinen Augen schon aber teils problemaaatisch waren (z.b. egoistisch und gemein) und irgendwie hab ich deren ganze geschichte nicht so ganz verstanden und dahr auch nicht wirklich chemie oder so gefühlt
Ich muss aber trotzdem sagen: das buch mag zwar bisschen random sein haha, aber ich mochte es wie gesagt trotzdem irgendwie. Es war erfrischend und lustig, mal was anderes und man konnte trotzdem auch zum Nachdenken angeregt werden.
Es war total anders, als ich erwartet habe, wobei ich so gemischte gefühle dem gegenüber hatte.
Der Schreibstil war erfrischend, die Perspektive und die Zwischeneinschübe/"Notizen" waren auch ganz cool.
Es war echt interessant duech den Rahmen, in den das ganze gepackt wurde, weil
1. Shara verschwindet und hinterlässt Hinweise so à la Schnitzeljagd
2. die Kombination zwischen ultrachristlicher Kleinstadt und Charakteren, die nicht der Norm entsprechen, rausfinden, wer sie sind und wer sie sein wollen
Aber ich muss leider auch sagen, dass ich die Nebenfiguren zwar allesamt richtig gerne mochte, Chloe und Shara (die beiden Hauptfiguren) in meinen Augen schon aber teils problemaaatisch waren (z.b. egoistisch und gemein) und irgendwie hab ich deren ganze geschichte nicht so ganz verstanden und dahr auch nicht wirklich chemie oder so gefühlt
Ich muss aber trotzdem sagen: das buch mag zwar bisschen random sein haha, aber ich mochte es wie gesagt trotzdem irgendwie. Es war erfrischend und lustig, mal was anderes und man konnte trotzdem auch zum Nachdenken angeregt werden.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Sexism
bookishmelissaa's review
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Biphobia, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Sexism
josxphinchen's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Transphobia, Homophobia, Biphobia, and Lesbophobia