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brookey8888'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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Blood, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Classism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Death of parent, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Suicide, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
kendal_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Classism, Alcohol, Bullying, Rape, and Misogyny
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Suicidal thoughts
taracloudclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The first half of this book is a lot of exposition, setting the stage for the driving action. But it’s done well, creatively, interestingly. In other words, “nothing happens,” and I was *almost* bored with it, but I only had to push through a little. It kind of reminds me of Spoon River Anthology with the intertwining of lives and stories of a small town where everyone knows everyone and always have (except the newbies, but that’s not portrayed as harshly as many of this trope).
While it’s a sports town, the sport itself doesn’t take a front seat. It truly is the background while still sating any love for it.
This definitely borders on literary fiction bc the structure is done in a very precise and lovely way, using almost poetic mechanisms such as repeated phrases and parallelism. The narrative style also has a starkness that reflects the setting and the situation, and vice versa. Tension and foreshadowing are done in an obvious but not ridiculous manner. The *way* it was written is as well done as the story itself.
This is definitely a book for consideration. The story is laid out, and while there’s no ambiguity as to “what happened,” there is much speculation to be made as to why and how and what the underlying issues are and how else they affect society. There are no stark answers given. Bad behavior is mentioned, implicated, but not condemned outright. That’s for the reader to determine, negotiate in some cases. Anyone who feels this is moralizing is probably on the more brutal side of the issue.
The narrator Marin Ireland does very well in complimenting the narrative style as well. It’s 3rd person, and the author is male, but I’m pleased they chose a female to tell this story. Such topics through the male perspective can be troublesome, but I feel like the author did well and the narrator helped convince me of it.
Graphic: Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Murder, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Vomit, Classism, Blood, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Addiction, Bullying, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide
unnurarna4'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: Rape, Child death, Bullying, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Violence, Classism, and Homophobia
liv_burrow'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
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Sexual violence, Classism, Bullying, Homophobia, Misogyny, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Grief, Alcohol, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Cursing, Child death, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Classism, Vomit, Gun violence, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
lenor1058's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Self harm, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
coybean's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Hate crime, Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Stalking, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
ellaxo's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Classism, Drug use, and Suicidal thoughts
const_elle_ations's review
- 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
i have so much to say about this book!! it did what it set out to do so well - i'm just not sure if what it set out to do was 100% my thing. the focus on community and the intersection of lives was fantastic and reminded me of this is us in the way it was constantly switching between both characters, slowly adding more and more, and times. the way the interpersonal relationships were portrayed felt very complex and cool - there's a review on the back of the book that says that "in this small town, backman shows the world", and i think that's pretty true. it can be applied to a lot of tightly-knit communities (i saw my robotics team in some parts of this book). i like how there's no clear main character - though if i had to pick, i'd say it's peter and kira.
i think what fell flat for me was the characters - while the relationships between them were fleshed out beautifully, the characters themselves felt semi-cliched and vague (at least some of them. i'd say a couple felt like they could be real people - peter, kira, ana, and david at times). i wanted less of an overarching, faraway look at what was happening and more of the zoomed-in, real-time emotional reactions of the characters to the rape accusations - especially the reactions of maya, kevin, and benji. i do think there was more of a focus on the adults, which makes sense because it's an adult book, but that made a lot of it feel detached to me. i think if some of the characters felt more personable, it'd be SO much more agonizing to read about their actions - especially the more "gray" characters.
i like the truth-telling writing style - it reminded me of my favorite parts of the raven boys. it felt a little heavy-handed and pretentious sometimes, but i like that sort of thing. i haven't read the reviews yet, but i suspect that's probably most people's gripe with this book if they have any. that, and the pacing, which was admittedly pretty slow for like...the whole book (i was expecting the party to happen a lot earlier in the book, not halfway, and...thought there's be more action/plot?)
that being said, i really loved how much the book tackled and how well it did it. the way it talked about rape culture felt so real and ugly and i wanted to reach into the book and punch pretty much everyone but ana, benji, ramona, and the anderssons. i loved the climax -
i could talk about the symbolism in that scene for days.
i'll definitely finish the series if only to find out which of the boys dies, becomes a father, and plays professional. that was so out of pocket. selfishly, i'm hoping the next two books have more of a focus on the teenagers.
Graphic: Sexism, Homophobia, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Child death, and Gun violence
Minor: Self harm