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julesadventurezone'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
Nonetheless, I was very invested toward the end and liked Will and Nico's relationship very much.
Graphic: Mental illness and Grief
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Minor: Murder, Outing, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, and Police brutality
eloise648'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: Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Homophobia, Death of parent, Murder, and Torture
Minor: Fire/Fire injury and Panic attacks/disorders
daisytrails'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: Blood, Child death, Confinement, Medical content, Torture, War, Violence, Death of parent, Eating disorder, Outing, Abandonment, Death, Grief, Murder, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
building_a_bookdom'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
4.75
Graphic: Grief and Mental illness
Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Dementia, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Death of parent, Grief, Torture, and Blood
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Gore
lizziaha's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Torture, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness
Minor: Murder and Panic attacks/disorders
zanm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
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PROS AND CONS
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Pros:
- Nico and Will are adorable and really thrive on healthy communication.
Nico goes to therapy!!! (Not a major plot point but)- I had warm fuzzy feelings at the end of this
- Nico had a nice little character arc about
self-love - Will had a good arc about
accepting Nico's trauma as it is and not fixing it which is a great message to the audience
Cons:
- Long/slow beginning
- Felt Ooc for Nico to
come out to the whole camp even in the way they explained it...and there was an "everybody clapped" moment... - Nico felt Ooc the whole time, really, but what do I know
- Not enough Will backstory!!! Even in chapters in his voice!!!!!
- Mr. D felt Ooc too but, again, what do I know? Tbh his change in character was kind of nice, even if I had to suspend my disbelief about it.
- Random meme references. So many. Too many. I had to keep ignoring them.
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Murder
Minor: War
rachelditty'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
4.75
"'I want what's best for him, and he seems to disappear into his darkness, like he's hiding in a place that doesn't want my light.'
'Then why not offer him your darkness?'" (p. 244).
"...it hurts to hear you talk about [the Underworld] like it's evil. Death isn't evil. It's just... death." (p. 349).
"'Sometimes I have to remind myself of that,' [Nico] said. 'That people did love me when I was younger.'" (p. 374).
"Will had heard love described in so many dramatic, bizarre ways over the years, but no one had described it like this: It's like drifting down a river of pain and knowing you are safe." (p. 432)
"To be alive in the world once more... It is beautiful." (p. 445).
"No one had ever loved him like Will did, and that was no longer terrifying. How could it be? How could acceptance and respect and desire be anything but the best things for Nico?" (p. 461).
"The future held hope. And he clung to it." (p. 462).
Moderate: Body horror, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, and Blood
trintrin'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
Solangelo making you feel like you're third-wheeling them for 466 pages? Sign me up, please.
The lovey-dovey stuff apart, I love how much this book focuses on both Nico and Will (they're teenagers, mind you) struggling to find who they are while dealing with their trauma. Sure, I love their cute romantic moments,
So did the writing and the general plot deserve five stars? Maybe not, but what can I say, I'm biased towards Nico and he more than deserves it. He finally healed, got some long-awaited closure with his family, has an amazing boyfriend,
TL;DR this is the cutest book I've ever read. It's quite cheesy, sure, but to quote Nico:
'Lay it on me, Will. I'm your grilled cheese'
He stepped over a thorny rock, then squinted at Nico. 'I think your metaphor needs work', he said.
Graphic: Grief, Death, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Eating disorder, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, and Outing
Minor: Medical content, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts