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kelsea's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Minor: Racism and Medical content
katekatiekait'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
4.0
Moderate: Grief, Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: War, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Racism
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Colonisation, Cultural appropriation, Death, Death of parent, Racism, and Xenophobia
kirstym25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Racism, and Death of parent
bluedilly's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Minor: Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Grief, and Mental illness
larareads'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Graphic: Classism, Colonisation, and Racism
Moderate: Death of parent
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Lily was kind of a nothing character. We kept being told that she and Will had so much in common, but the narrative never really showed us that. She had more chemistry with basically everyone else than she did with Will. Their relationship felt very forced.
Alex and Irene’s romance was much better. It was a really small part of the story, but I felt it was developed well and it made sense for both characters.
Daniel’s complicated relationship with his father was by far the best part of the book for me. I related to Daniel a lot, much more than I ever expected to, and he felt like the most complex character with the most developed relationships—funny, that, because I often felt like the narrative cared about him the least.
Hated Daniel’s crush on Irene. I also think it would have been much more compelling for him to have had a gay crush on straight Will than a straight crush on gay Irene (not that either Irene or Alex actually identified as anything).
I thought that the prose was very lyrical and poetic, but it didn’t quite work for a book that was marketed so heavily as a heist story and that centered so much around the (underwritten) heists. I would definitely read another book by this author cause I think she has a ton of potential and a lot to say, but this one just didn’t quite work for me.
One more thing: the mentions of COVID-19 and BLM felt super weird and out of place, especially considering there were no Black characters in the book and no mentions of the pandemic having any lasting presence or impact despite the book seemingly being set in 2021. Super weird.
I did really enjoy the final heist/etc., though.
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Cancer, and Colonisation
being_stupid'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Colonisation
Moderate: Racism and Xenophobia
ramreadsagain'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
4.5
While it is very slow paced, it has to be in order to give all five main characters enough growth. I loved how friendships (and more) developed between them throughout the book. A really good read.
Moderate: Death of parent and Colonisation
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, and Racism
yvonne_cl'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
4.25
Graphic: Colonisation, Xenophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Cultural appropriation, and Racism
Minor: Hate crime