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judythedreamer's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
2.5
John Green is just not for me. He writes amazing philosophical spirals and character portraits but he neglects the story so much that there's little to no enticement to keep the train going.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Ableism, Blood, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse and Death of parent
supercat_earl's review
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
paulabekkerus's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
Graphic: Car accident, Classism, Death, Mental illness, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Medical trauma, Self harm, and Death of parent
Moderate: Blood
vercopaanir's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I cried! I loved being inside Aza’s head although it made my heart hurt for this fictional character sometimes. It was interesting to experience someone else’s… experience, I guess, with OCD that is more debilitating than mine, because I was able to relate in some ways and not others. I thought the friendships were very real and well-written. Overall a good book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Medical content, and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism, Alcohol, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Toxic friendship
adrirenae's review
emotional
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
5.0
if you struggle with a panic disorder or intrusive thoughts like i do, this book will resonate with you beyond belief.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, and Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Minor: Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
bootrat's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Grief
adinasf's review
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Mental illness, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
aoifemarie's review
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Death of parent, Vomit, Blood, Car accident, and Death
rachelditty's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It's been a while since I picked up a John Green book, and while I know I'm no longer his age-range for his intended audience, I still feel the same way now about his writing as I did when The Fault in Our Stars was at is height in popularity. Obviously, John Green is a huge name in writing and has had numerous books of his on the NYT Best Seller list, so he's doing pretty good for himself, but a few years ago I say someone online say that it feels like he draws the most random things out of a hat and finds a way to insert them into the story he's writing. For this, it was that lizard/dinosaur that was left the estate, Chuck E. Cheeze, and probably the Star Wars fanfiction (though I'll let that one slide because it was pretty accurate for a high school-age kid, I think).
As far as the portrayal of mental illness goes, Aza's OCD was written in such a well-framed way that it was hard to read at times. As someone with an anxiety disorder, I could relate to Aza's trains of thought as she began to spiral, and watching as she continued to get worse as the story went on was hard. Watching her consistently having to assert her boundaries with herself, and then toward the end with her friends and family, was heartbreaking but also very hopeful. Green did a great job with the portrayal of OCD in this book.
I think my biggest gripe was that at times the narration style would change. I think the purpose of getting rid of the noun in many of the sentences (such as getting rid of I in a sentence like Needed to get somewhere, for example) was to make the narration feel rushed and bled together. While I acknowledge that, it personally felt a bit clunky for my reading experience. The narration change toward the end from I to you was unexpected and well done and a great way to show how disconnected Aza was with herself at that point.
Overall a good read, though probably not the best for my personal mental health so soon after reading I'm Glad My Mom Died. Definitely need something a bit more fun next. Turtles All the Way Down was good. John Green isn't my favorite but he obviously has his audience. It's just not me.
Also I think Davis deserves the world, I hope he has a good time in Colorado.
Quotes I liked:
"Anybody can look at you. It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see." (p. 9)
"...back then all emotions felt like play, like I was experimenting with feeling rather than stuck with it." (p. 22)
"I was so good at being a kid, and so terrible at being whatever I was now." (p. 25)
"...Saying more wrong things while trying to apologize." (p. 42).
"...you tell yourself, I am not my thoughts, even though deep down you're not sure what exactly that makes you." (p. 46).
"The way he talked about thoughts was the way I experienced them--not as a choice but as a destiny." (p. 59).
"No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again." (p. 59).
"I was thinking about how part of your self can be in a place while at the same time the most important parts are in a different place, a place that can't be accessed via your senses. Like, how I'd driven all the way to school without really being inside the car. I was trying to look at Mychal, trying to hear the clamor of the hallway, but I wasn't there, not really, not deep down." (p. 71).
"One of the challenges with pain--physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can't be represented the way a table or a body can. In some ways, pain is the opposite of language." (p. 89).
"I tried to smile and shake my head at the right times, but I was always a moment behind the rest of them. They laughed because something was funny; I laughed because they had." (p. 98).
"Most adults are just hollowed out. You watch them try to fill themselves up with booze or money or God or fame or whatever they worship, and it all rots them from the inside until nothing is left but the money or booze or God they thought would save them... Adults think they're wielding power, but really power is wielding them." (p. 145).
"The worst part of being truly alone is you think about all the times you wished that everyone would just leave you be. Then they do, and you are left being, and you turn out to be terrible company." (p. 186).
"She noted, more than once, that the meteor shower was happening, beyond the overcast sky, even if we could not see it. Who cares if she can kiss? She can see through the clouds." (p. 189).
"Our hearts were broken in the same places. That's something like love, but maybe not quite the thing itself." (p. 206).
"My voice felt squeaky, but I was finding it." (p. 214).
"I'm doing my best, but I can't stay sane for you, okay?" (p. 247).
"You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story told. You are somebody's something, but you are also your you." (p. 257).
"You get to pick the frame, you know? Maybe you don't choose what's in the picture, but you decide on the frame." (p. 277).
"Stole this from a lizard for you.--D." (p. 285). (I thought this was funny as hell).
"But you don't know any of that yet. We squeeze his hand. He squeezes back. You stare up at the same sky together, and after a while he says, I have to go, and you say, Good-bye, and he says, Good-bye, Aza, and no one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again." (p. 286).
As far as the portrayal of mental illness goes, Aza's OCD was written in such a well-framed way that it was hard to read at times. As someone with an anxiety disorder, I could relate to Aza's trains of thought as she began to spiral, and watching as she continued to get worse as the story went on was hard. Watching her consistently having to assert her boundaries with herself, and then toward the end with her friends and family, was heartbreaking but also very hopeful. Green did a great job with the portrayal of OCD in this book.
I think my biggest gripe was that at times the narration style would change. I think the purpose of getting rid of the noun in many of the sentences (such as getting rid of I in a sentence like Needed to get somewhere, for example) was to make the narration feel rushed and bled together. While I acknowledge that, it personally felt a bit clunky for my reading experience. The narration change toward the end from I to you was unexpected and well done and a great way to show how disconnected Aza was with herself at that point.
Overall a good read, though probably not the best for my personal mental health so soon after reading I'm Glad My Mom Died. Definitely need something a bit more fun next. Turtles All the Way Down was good. John Green isn't my favorite but he obviously has his audience. It's just not me.
Also I think Davis deserves the world, I hope he has a good time in Colorado.
Quotes I liked:
"Anybody can look at you. It's quite rare to find someone who sees the same world you see." (p. 9)
"...back then all emotions felt like play, like I was experimenting with feeling rather than stuck with it." (p. 22)
"I was so good at being a kid, and so terrible at being whatever I was now." (p. 25)
"...Saying more wrong things while trying to apologize." (p. 42).
"...you tell yourself, I am not my thoughts, even though deep down you're not sure what exactly that makes you." (p. 46).
"The way he talked about thoughts was the way I experienced them--not as a choice but as a destiny." (p. 59).
"No one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again." (p. 59).
"I was thinking about how part of your self can be in a place while at the same time the most important parts are in a different place, a place that can't be accessed via your senses. Like, how I'd driven all the way to school without really being inside the car. I was trying to look at Mychal, trying to hear the clamor of the hallway, but I wasn't there, not really, not deep down." (p. 71).
"One of the challenges with pain--physical or psychic--is that we can really only approach it through metaphor. It can't be represented the way a table or a body can. In some ways, pain is the opposite of language." (p. 89).
"I tried to smile and shake my head at the right times, but I was always a moment behind the rest of them. They laughed because something was funny; I laughed because they had." (p. 98).
"Most adults are just hollowed out. You watch them try to fill themselves up with booze or money or God or fame or whatever they worship, and it all rots them from the inside until nothing is left but the money or booze or God they thought would save them... Adults think they're wielding power, but really power is wielding them." (p. 145).
"The worst part of being truly alone is you think about all the times you wished that everyone would just leave you be. Then they do, and you are left being, and you turn out to be terrible company." (p. 186).
"She noted, more than once, that the meteor shower was happening, beyond the overcast sky, even if we could not see it. Who cares if she can kiss? She can see through the clouds." (p. 189).
"Our hearts were broken in the same places. That's something like love, but maybe not quite the thing itself." (p. 206).
"My voice felt squeaky, but I was finding it." (p. 214).
"I'm doing my best, but I can't stay sane for you, okay?" (p. 247).
"You're the narrator, the protagonist, and the sidekick. You're the storyteller and the story told. You are somebody's something, but you are also your you." (p. 257).
"You get to pick the frame, you know? Maybe you don't choose what's in the picture, but you decide on the frame." (p. 277).
"Stole this from a lizard for you.--D." (p. 285). (I thought this was funny as hell).
"But you don't know any of that yet. We squeeze his hand. He squeezes back. You stare up at the same sky together, and after a while he says, I have to go, and you say, Good-bye, and he says, Good-bye, Aza, and no one ever says good-bye unless they want to see you again." (p. 286).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Car accident, Grief, Medical content, and Self harm
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Vomit
Very graphic and well written depictions of OCD--proceed with caution if reading about thought spirals send you into your own thought spirals.jonesroni638's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Chronic illness, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Car accident