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spencerthedemonbarber's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Gun violence, Violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Sexism, Self harm, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Grief, Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Death, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Vomit
fancyjess_party's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Drug use, Car accident, Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Ableism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Medical content, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Cancer, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Violence, and Toxic relationship
laujane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mass/school shootings, Death, Medical content, Homophobia, and Self harm
helfire124's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Alcohol, Car accident, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Violence, Death of parent, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Chronic illness, and Grief
Moderate: Antisemitism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Vomit, Pregnancy, Mental illness, Cancer, Classism, Cursing, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Sexism, and Racial slurs
qrschulte's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I didn’t find Sadie and Sam particularly likable, but I completely understood their motivations and their choices were believable.
This was a really ambitious book, and I think Zevin executed it really well. You can tell she put in a lot of time researching to make it realistic. It’s clearly a love letter to gaming, and I really appreciated the style of the different sections. I think it added a lot to the narrative. This is definitely a book that I will enjoy even more on a future read, though having a physical copy would make it easier to flip back to remind myself of different sections.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and War
Not a true adult/minor relationship, but the power dynamic was definitely like one. The ableism is more internalized.olivia119's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual violence, Ableism, Body horror, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Mass/school shootings
issyd23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Bullying, Cancer, Car accident, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Police brutality, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
rachelizabeth2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief, Gun violence, and Self harm
boop_nico's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Grief, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Medical content, Murder, Addiction, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Abortion and Blood
Minor: Cursing, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Sexism
myk_yeah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I understand the hype, in a way I loved this book. But I'm also really conflicted.
First off, you need so many trigger warnings for this book my gosh. None of the coverage of the book prepared me for that.
I am not disabled, so I can't speak to how realistic the disability representation was, but what I didn't like was how steeped in pitty it all was. The framing the book took was to see Sam's disability through the lens of pity, offered by his rich, able-bodied peers. There's a moment where Sam is described as being confident and in his zone, and the narration says that his limp was diminished, or something like that. I wish the book would have accepted Sam for how he was, instead of seeing his disability as something that made him infantilized in a way Marx and Sadie never were.
The major abusive romantic relationship in the book was disappointing to read as a survivor. More on that the spoiler section. There's also a SA scene that is not framed as SA. (Probably because it was a woman sexually touching a man who didn't want to be touched) Made my stomach turn.
Oh and the very casual and consistent zionism. Thumbs down there.
I did love having a story about a platonic relationship. It makes you realize how rare that is to see in media and fiction. These people are messy, and bad to each other, and I liked it. I thought it was realistic. I like how it showed the impacts of trauma on how we act towards one another. And how you can get a story wrapped up in your head about what's going on when you don't communicate. I love how it showed how far we'll go for the ones we love and how beautiful it is to create together.
The Pioneer chapter was outstanding, just magic.
Graphic: Suicide, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Sexual assault, Self harm, Car accident, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Grief
Moderate: Sexism, Racism, Physical abuse, Medical content, Abortion, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Bullying