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partlyclaudia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
SPOILERS
it presents itself as an incredibly slow burning romance between sadie and sam and ultimately results in.. not that? slow burning friendship (?) i enjoyed the acknowledgement that not all love is romantic and that there are things more important than romance, but still found the change in tone resulting from marx’s death to be really hard to read. it felt like the plot derailed a little bit, emphasizing the need for that third person in sadie/sam’s relationship, especially marx. feeling conflicted over this. bumping it a bit bc im realizing how conflicted i really feel lol
Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Car accident, Body horror, Homophobia, Medical content, Death of parent, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Hate crime, Adult/minor relationship, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
quotablehedgehog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Death, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Car accident
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Medical content, Misogyny, Transphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Racism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Sexism
Minor: Pregnancy, Abortion, Alcohol, Cursing, Antisemitism, Classism, Drug use, Ableism, and Racial slurs
fancyjess_party's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Self harm, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Drug use, Car accident, Bullying, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Ableism, Suicide, Sexual violence, Racial slurs, Medical content, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Torture, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Cancer, Sexism, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Xenophobia, Violence, and Toxic relationship
amylokoff'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: Car accident, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Sexism
Minor: Classism, Cancer, Ableism, and Dysphoria
adaora_ble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It did such a good job of fleshing out every character it touched whilst still focusing on the MCs. Even though they were frustrating and complex and unable to hold necessary emotional conversations with each other, I still loved every single character through deep and unabiding love for each other to dispassionate hate to everything inbetween.
Marx really is the better half of Sam and Sadie, the glue that holds everything together, probably the best character from an objective standpoint and certainly the most emotionally healthy of the main trio. However, in choosing my favourite character it has to be Sam, digging into his psyche and all his neurosis and hang ups and things he just cannot say even though he truly wants to I feel so bad for him and simultaneously so mad at him and yet you get his deep fear.
Up until the moment I finished it I thought of this book as contemporary fiction, or as my high school librarian would call it 'That's Life', but when I was tagging/shelving it on StoryGraphs I was suddenly struck with the realisation that it could very well be classed as a sci-fi. Like a low stakes (and less fucked up) Black Mirror; it speculates on the effects/consequences of technology on individuals and society, even if it's something as basic as a 90s video game and not Ready Player One, it speaks to our own world and the problems we face as a society.
I can't recommend this book enough, I was fighting tears on the train at the end and even though the first part (of ten parts) was fairly slow it soon sucked me in and got me invested in even the most brief character.
Moderate: Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Dysphoria, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Cancer, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, and Drug use
qrschulte's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
I didn’t find Sadie and Sam particularly likable, but I completely understood their motivations and their choices were believable.
This was a really ambitious book, and I think Zevin executed it really well. You can tell she put in a lot of time researching to make it realistic. It’s clearly a love letter to gaming, and I really appreciated the style of the different sections. I think it added a lot to the narrative. This is definitely a book that I will enjoy even more on a future read, though having a physical copy would make it easier to flip back to remind myself of different sections.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and War
Not a true adult/minor relationship, but the power dynamic was definitely like one. The ableism is more internalized.arguhlincozzi'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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Gun violence, Antisemitism, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Blood, Racism, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Ableism, Car accident, Drug use, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Dysphoria, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Abandonment, Medical content, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Sexism
it's just so good.snickbit's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Classism, Abortion, Vomit, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Body shaming
purplepenning's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol, Cancer, Classism, Drug use, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Abandonment, Ableism, Abortion, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Body horror, Cursing, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Vomit, Blood, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Cultural appropriation, Antisemitism, and Bullying