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emily_mh'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Outing, Racism, Gaslighting, and Hate crime
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Vomit, Cursing, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, and Car accident
Minor: Murder, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Child death, Sexism, Sexual content, Death, Blood, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Drug use, Ableism, Police brutality, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Slavery, and Pregnancy
Major: three uses of the n-slur, eugenics Moderate: imprisoned loved one, capital punishment Minor: disownment, toxic masculinity, texturism, sick loved one, suicidal ideation, disordered eatingtheuncannydani'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: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Racism, Child abuse, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Gaslighting, Stalking, Classism, Death, Car accident, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual harassment, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Confinement, Alcohol, Suicide, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, and Sexual violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Cursing, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Injury/Injury detail, and Drug abuse
simbarabbit20'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
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Hate crime
Moderate: Car accident and Outing
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
kdailyreads'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
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Homophobia, Outing, Racial slurs, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
bookishchef'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
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.
I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist
There are also still some things that puzzle me:
1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there.
2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that.
3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage?
4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care?
5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now.
6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too?
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help?
I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:
We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before.
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire.
Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.
Graphic: Hate crime, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Violence, Homophobia, Bullying, Car accident, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Outing
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Death of parent, Alcohol, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Stalking, Drug abuse, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Police brutality, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcoholism
The N word is used once.spooderman'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gaslighting, Car accident, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Outing, Mental illness, Slavery, Cursing, Stalking, Body shaming, Colonisation, Misogyny, Gun violence, Vomit, Death, Violence, Torture, Murder, Abandonment, Bullying, and Blood
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Police brutality, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Confinement, Medical content, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, and Drug use
Minor: Eating disorder and Pregnancy
hyliansee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Hate crime, Blood, Outing, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Car accident, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Sexism, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Vomit, Fatphobia, Mental illness, and Misogyny
writtenbydnicole'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
4.5
Graphic: Car accident, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, and Racial slurs
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Medical content, Pregnancy, Murder, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
oceanw1's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Stalking
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, and Murder
Minor: Confinement, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual assault, and Slavery
nyoom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, and Terminal illness
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, and Slavery