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megmccreery's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Self harm, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Suicide, Mental illness, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Schizophrenia/Psychosis and Excrement
khowick24's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Child abuse, Mental illness, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Death, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Self harm
aleann129's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- 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
Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicide, Child abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Blood, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Mental illness
tarantulagirl's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Body horror, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Blood, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, and Suicide
likeagilmoregirl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Physical abuse, Self harm, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
erica_reads_things'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
2.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Medical content, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and Suicide
Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death, Gore, and Rape
Minor: Sexual content and Vomit
murdoch's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
The writing felt amateurish, all tell and no show. It was completely lacking in subtlety and, honestly, skill. I thought the depictions of mental illness were extremely heavy-handed and excessively trope-y; the repeated graphic descriptions of self-injury seemed gratuitous and served no purpose in terms of plot or characterisation.
First plot twist was so predictable, I didn’t understand if the reader was meant to be shocked or not. The final reveal was kind of like, “okay and?”. By that point I just wanted it to be over and the ending fell as flat as the characters felt.
Reading the author’s bio I thought she would be able to write about the sensitive topics in this book in a way that doesn’t feel exploitative or ignorant. So much of the book came across like it had been written by someone who’d just discovered what mental illness is; concepts that (to me at least) seemed relatively basic were written about like they were revolutionary. The author also presented details so clinically that at times it felt like reading a case study rather than a fictional book. I felt sometimes like I was sitting in a high school psychology class or a lecture.
Some of the characters, specifically the protagonist’s therapist and her doctor, seemed like mouthpieces for the author to “show off” what she knows about mental illness, trauma etc. But the information wasn’t even impressive or engaging?
Descriptions of some of the female patients on the psych ward were unnecessary, seemed like the author just wanted to shit on a particular kind of woman. Again, this seemed to serve no purpose whatsoever. We get the usual, done-to-death scene during group therapy on the psych ward where one patient’s meltdown triggers the rest. Yawn.
Given the author’s background, I was hoping for a more unique perspective on the topics at hand. The story was a telling of mental illness that was at best boring and at its worst irresponsible and misinformed.
Overall, the characterisation and the relationships between characters were weird and unbelievable. The plot was obvious, anti-climactic and tired.
It gets one star for the concept and even that I give begrudingly.
In short: this book did nothing new and, worse, did it badly. Hated it.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug abuse
princess_marie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Mental illness, Rape, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Child abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Body shaming, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Gore, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Minor: Body horror, Dysphoria, Excrement, Medical content, Sexual content, Car accident, Drug use, and Vomit
ztmlo's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Self harm
harleybrewpup's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicide