Reviews tagging 'Grief'

My Life with the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

9 reviews

marena02's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death of parent, Cursing, Death, Abandonment, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Medical content

autumnwitch14's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Car accident, Alcohol, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Chronic illness

Minor: Toxic relationship, Vomit, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail

Mentions of "Indians" as "savages"

gmoneyyyyy's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

dramagirl2003's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.25

it was great, and i liked that i could picture the characters' faces from watching the series. it would be nice if there was a sequel, but alas

thoughts while reading
ch 2: rumplesnakeskin is the GOAT name
ch 13: that hoodie is gonna be incriminating, mark my words
ch 18: long exaggerated gasp

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Alcohol, and Car accident

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, and Sexual harassment

leikyr's review against another edition

lighthearted fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Violence

grace33's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted sad medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Grief

tbwhite23's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Car accident

piperclover's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.75

I decided to reread this and see if it was actually as good as I remember and it held up really well. I am actually astounded at how well this held up. There are a couple of things that really bother me, #1 being that there's a very strict adherence to the gender binary, mostly at the end of the book when Jackie is talking to the only female Walter child and #2 being that it's that awful YA trope where the girl falls for the guy that is not good for her or to her over the guy that is genuinely good for her and to her. Cole isn't as bad as he could be but he does not have nearly enough character growth to warrant their big declarations of love at the end.

There's also a few unsavory jokes at the expense of women but given the decade this was written in, it's not nearly as bad as it could be. 

I'm surprised at how well this book handled some heavy topics given that the author was about 15 when she started writing it around 2012-ish. The writing is actually genuinely good too. It was very fast to get through and enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Abandonment and Death of parent

libbylou905's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Minor: Medical content, Ableism, and Alcohol