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fionamclary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Like many readers, I had a hard time seeing how all four perspectives fit together. Often it felt like I was reading two to three different books. I think if all four characters had personal connections to each other, it would have worked much better. As it was, basically the only character that Louisa had any relation to was Karina. This made the different perspectives feel additionally disjointed. However, all characters went through satisfying development, whether for better or for worse. Preston, falling into the latter category, ended up being an interesting vehicle for exploring the intersection of art, capitalism, and the 2010s internet through a lens that captured both the 2011-2012 setting of the book and the hindsight that the author has 10 years later.
Speaking of the early 2010s...a small thing that bothered the heck out of me was the timeline of Preston's Tumblr. The book says that he started it shortly after his mother's death, which happened when he was 14. This would have been 7-8 years before the events of the book. Tumblr was launched in 2007, 4-5 years before the events of the book. I was surprised that a Millennial author would get this detail wrong—and she could have resolved it by saying that he started on another platform and then migrated to Tumblr, but no, it explicitly says that he started his Tumblr soon after his mom died. This bugged me way too much but I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to get right. Am I crazy??
I read this book in April 2024, as I'm watching encampments protesting the genocide in Gaza go up on university campuses across the country, so the Occupy setting of this book felt especially timely. I might recommend this book to anyone looking for parallels in their reading life to current events.
Anyway, I think this would be a solid read for the art girlies looking for something meditative and gay. Just don't expect it to be The queer academia of all time.
Graphic: Infidelity, Drug use, Classism, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Suicide, Death, Dementia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Lesbophobia, Bullying, Police brutality, Grief, and Homophobia
hannahleewhite's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Moderate: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault
Minor: Dementia, Mental illness, Drug use, and Suicide
tirrato'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
4.5
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Suicidal thoughts
mikarala's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Anyways, the strengths of this novel: I would say the writing style is not only really lovely and lyrical, but also extremely readable and accessible. Angress has a talent for conveying complex emotions and in a way that it both straightforward and poetic. I think this aided what was probably my actual favourite part of this novel, namely: the characterization. I feel as though I loved and hated all the main characters, was somehow rooting for them yet incredibly tired of all their bullshit human failures and constant excuses. I thought the characters all felt extremely realistic, with the four MCs all embodying different positions within the hierarchy of the art world that made for a fascinating contrast within the story.
I would admit that I don't think the plot of this novel was very compelling (if it even existed). I think this book is more of a "year in the life" type of story, following our 4 MCs through several ups and downs. That's really the main thing holding me back from a 5 star rating. Very enjoyable read that I would recommend, but maybe a bit all over the place in terms of story arc.
Moderate: Sexual assault and Violence
Minor: Dementia
dixiecarroll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Suicide, Rape, Abandonment, Death of parent, Dementia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
frannyrdclark'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: Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death, Dementia, Death of parent, Vomit, Grief, and Physical abuse
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Grief, Dementia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Animal death, Cursing, and Death
erickaonpaper'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Infidelity, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Dementia and Panic attacks/disorders
raemow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Infidelity, Grief, Death, Alcohol, Drug use, Sexual assault, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Classism, Blood, and Dementia
sjanke2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Casting: ironically, Phoebe Bridgers as Karina and Daisy Edgar Jones as Louisa
Graphic: Death of parent, Dementia, Toxic relationship, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Cursing, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Drug use, Grief, Sexual assault, Infidelity, and Mental illness