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chronicacademia'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Sexual content, and Stalking
Moderate: Ableism
booksthatburn'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? It's complicated
5.0
There’s a consistent theme of ableism, mainly but not only from professors who don’t know Delaney is deaf (because they didn’t read the emails alerting them). She’s navigating this new space and deciding how much she’d rather deal with not being able to usefully hear in the moment or with overt ableism once people know she’s deaf. Whether she’s using her implant and what she does or does not hear is important throughout, and is used to great effect once things start getting spooky.
The worldbuilding is sparse, most of the details are atmospheric and unexplained until late in the book. The specific answers and explanations (when they finally arrived) wrapped up pretty much everything I wanted to know. I enjoy vibe-heavy books that leave me interested but confused for long stretches, so this was a deeply satisfying read for me. Colton’s secrets (and those he keeps for others) are hinted at but not revealed early, keeping the reader and Delaney equally in the dark for much of the story.
For a book with parallel worlds there aren’t many descriptions of traversals, though there are more towards the end. I like how much the focus is on Delaney piecing things together and trying to make it through her classes, and on her dynamic with Colton. I often enjoy books with mysterious and brooding guys, and this delivered.
Heavy on vibes, supported by a delicate but satisfying plot, don’t miss THE WHISPERING DARK.
Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Ableism, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Vomit, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Cursing, Stalking, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Confinement, Toxic friendship, and Car accident
Minor: Dementia, Drug use, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Animal death, and Pregnancy
jassieex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Abandonment
ttumbletree'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
i loved the representation in it, as well as the world it was set in and the characters different voices and especially their interactions (the amount of times i chuckled to myself and wrote the word “same” in this book is just…. a lot, okay? 😂)
the one thing i would’ve enjoyed a bit more is if more of the book had focused on lane’s relationship with her friends. i think it would’ve given her more agency and would’ve made their developing friendships feel a bit more natural ☺️ oh and there were just a lot of descriptions of colors where the author used flowers/plants as descriptors and it got a bit confusing at times… (there were a solid 50 pages throughout which i was struggling to understand what the mc’s eye color was… i enjoy flowery descriptions a lot, but i also enjoy understanding certain bits… like the eye color of the mc if it’s being pointed out this much.) but this feels more like a side note to me personally. (also in case your wondering, lane’s eyes are green… at least i think so 😂)
long story short, i really enjoyed the book and will definitely recommend it to friends and maybe even reread it one day.
a solid 4⭐️ read!
Graphic: Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Grief, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Abandonment, Gore, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Dementia
soniajoy98's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Blood, Ableism, and Child death
Moderate: Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Medical content
Minor: Classism and Car accident