Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - Everyone in This Room Will Someday be Dead

Okay I'm actually obsessed with this book. Wow.

I have anxiety and I related to Gilda a lot while reading it (though she struggles with it way more than I do, and I have a much easier time asking for help). I loved the way this was written, in genuinely every way that could be interpreted. I'm amazed by how relatable and funny this was while also being so dark and existential. I was so drawn in and cared so much about what was going to happen to everyone involved.

Honestly I have absolutely zero complaints about this book. I mean...I wish maybe we'd gotten a glimpse of Eli at the end to see what happened there? But I understand why the author may have wanted to leave some things open-ended, and I'm satisfied with what we did get to see at the end. I can't recommend this book enough.

Content Warnings

thesapphiccelticbookworm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective slow-paced

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

4.25

Content Warnings

samvansam's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

Content Warnings

sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

4.5

i had been in a reading slump during most of summer so i decided to get out of my comfort zone with this book. i usually enjoy reading rom-coms but this time i chose a contemporary fiction story because, let's be honest, the title is really intriguing. this was my first time listening to an audiobook (the narrator was really good, btw) while also reading the book by myself, as i thought it would help me get more focused. it did work! however, now i am once again in a slump, lmao.

before you keep reading: THIS BOOK IS NOT FOR EVERYONE. i've seen many people who did not finish it because they thought it was too depressive for them. that's their opinion and i totally respect it. i saw somebody say it's kind of a lighter version of "a little life" and, even though i haven't read the latter book, i agree. this story doesn't really contain any tropes or big plots, it's more about a character study.

anyways, if i could express what i felt while reading this book i think it'd simply be: wow. it's been more than a week since i finished it but i'm still feeling in awe. i am not a lesbian, neither an atheist nor somebody struggling with anxiety. however i don't think i have ever related to a book character as much as i did with gilda. i usually pick up books as a form of escapism but this was the total opposite. it felt like the author zoomed in onto my brain and decided to analyze and share some of my thoughts. i would love to list a few that hit so close that i began to feel kinda scared lmao. i am mainly doing this for myself so i guess you can skip this part if you're curious in reading my review!

first of all we have gilda being in a point of her life where she can't picture and older version of herself, which leads to her lack of motivation. personally, since i was a child, i believed i wouldn't make it to past my twenties. so now, as an almost-19-year-old i feel kinda lost in life. i have no purpose and doing literally anything can feel so exhausting at times.
then there's gilda hating being the center of attention but worrying about others more than she worries about herself. idk what made me turn into that kind of person but i think i would also rather
endure pain by myself than call an ambulance and let everybody know i'm in pain, lmao.
and, idk but the fact that she kept looking for mittens over and over again throughout the book and that she could never have a pet or something she loves because she would never recover from its death; her believing every single human deserves to feel validated (not herself tho)... woah, it had me whispering "so me" all the time
gilda struggling to believe she's an actual person; that she exists physically. i can't really explain this but i everytime i try to think about my own existence and people perceiving me and being aware of my existence, staring at my reflection in a mirror... i just feel so weird. it's like a part of me can't really accept that fact? plus the feeling like you're a total different person from a month ago. idk but i felt so seen knowing im not the only one who deals with this lmao.
feeling kind of sad when someone does something nice for her? if i am not wrong, there's a point in the book where she describes it as "heartbreaking" and god, i could not relate more to that. it's not only someone giving me a present but the whole process behind it: thinking about it, choosing it, spending time and money OVER ME. even the small steps are super meaningful to me, it's hard to believe that someone believes the things i say. i don't know everything just feels so ????? this just brings back again one of the earlier points i've highlighted: if i am totally insignificant, why would you do this for me?

so yeah, to sum up i just really related to gilda. one thing i loved about her was that, althoug she was really struggling with her mental health, her love for eleanor remained the same all along. of course, love can't cure mental illnesses but i find so endearing how her manic and intrusive thoughts would stop everytime she was with her only to focus on whatever she had to say or to enjoy as much as she could their time together.
another character i really loved too was eli! i absolutely adored how he was always there for his sister, willing to protect her from everything and everyone. i wish we could have got to see more of his development cause he truly deserves a happy ending too :(

i really liked the ending. i love how she ends up

emailing everyone and being brutally honest with them, trying to help them (such as in barney or eli's emails) or just sharing a bit of her past (such as her mother's death)

but the one thing i kinda disliked is

how everything seemed to be magically solved by the end? do not get me wrong, i felt super happy when she decided to move on with her life and try to achieve happiness. however, i believe that's kind of a complicated process and i would have loved to get deeper into it.

ps: the book gets bonus points for mentioning the title in the story!

Content Warnings

nialiversuch's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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silkyteapot's review against another edition

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4.5

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dahyol's review against another edition

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fast-paced

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

2.5

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