This is the YA revenge fic I needed. Wish all the real life SA stories ended in such a satisfying way. Queer and neurodivergent POC characters kick ass.

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tripthroughthepages's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.75

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motz_stick's review against another edition

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challenging informative tense fast-paced

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

2.0

Disappointed

I picked this book up after seeing Reyes’ name attached because I had a great time reading Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School. I knew this book would be fast paced considering my previous knowledge of their work, but this was too fast even for me. I absolutely loved the empowering plot and the way the characters developed overtime, but there was so much going on it became hard to keep track. I wish this book would’ve been a series that covers Ari’s family issues, exposing of Lewis, and blooming relationship in 3 different books. This would’ve allowed for so much more development in a more reasonable amount of time. The only other complaint I have is that the first half of the book feels forced. Labels are added in so frequently it begins to just feel like buzzwords.

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maemcferrin's review against another edition

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informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

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erynpaige's review against another edition

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dark hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.25

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megansoetaert's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

i loved this book so much 😭😭🫶🏼🫶🏼 just as much if not more than Lesbiana’s Guide to Catholic School!

Ari is my queen. i love her and only want the best for her 💗 seeing her journey throughout the book with the help of the Survival Club made me so emotional. i loved the cast of characters & the representation that came so easily to the book!

also: FUCK ABUSERS! y’all will get what’s coming to you.

Content Warnings

nibs's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.5

I really like this one. A story of friendship, community, solidarity and having to try and find your own form of justice in corrupt systems. The author handled heavy topics (rape, trauma) in a way that didn't feel retraumatising, with many details occuring 'off screen'. It really shows that you don't need to have gratuitous violence and show all these graphic details to explore these topics well.

I love that the characters feel like teenagers. I enjoyed looking back to the cover and having the reference images for Ari, Shawni, Nina and Jasmine.

It was cool to see Ari as a fleshed out autistic person. The journey of self-identified autistic people doesn't get seen much in books, so it was cool to see it explored in this one. Not having access to other resources, Ari researches herself to figure out why she can't talk a lot of the time and to better understand and support herself.

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