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thebookpaiges's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Murder, Violence, Drug use, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Mental illness, and Death of parent
dhutton1997'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
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Bullying, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Classism, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Drug abuse
renyoi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug use, Homophobia, Outing, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Murder, and Death
Moderate: Car accident, Chronic illness, Cancer, Classism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
krhe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Outing, Violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Sexism, Homophobia, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, and Addiction
Moderate: Cancer, Mass/school shootings, Classism, Gaslighting, and Mental illness
badvision'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Self harm, Suicide, Death, Murder, Outing, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Cursing, and Infidelity
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Classism, Alcoholism, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Car accident
tak_everlasting'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? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Classism
Minor: Suicide, Murder, and Drug abuse
uranaishi'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Outing
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Infidelity, Murder, and Suicide
Minor: Car accident, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Cancer, Gaslighting, Gun violence, and Sexual content
abookandaspotoftea's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
2.5
Moderate: Sexism, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Classism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Suicide, Alcoholism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Infidelity, Outing, and Self harm
allyhoo811'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
3.0
Overall, I found this to an engaging YA mystery. The characters and their secrets/motives were pretty cliche and easily guessed, but the overall character development (especially with Addy) was wonderful and I would definitely recommend this one to most people. It gave me huge Breakfast Club vibes and I think fans of 80s/90s teen movies would especially enjoy the nostalgia factor even though it has a contemporary setting.
I did not love the ending/epilogue,
My 2 Big Issues (contain major spoilers):
1. Simon killing himself was a really interesting (if somewhat predictable) twist, but the portrayal of Simon as someone suffering from depression was unfortunate. Many people (teens included) suffer from depression, but they don't create elaborate, evil revenge plots to take out everyone who ever looked at them funny. Most people with depression have a hard time getting out of bed. And Simon had been destroying people's lives for years, portraying him as someone who was depressed and felt like an outsider when he was actually probably suffering from some severe personality disorders puts a bad light on depression, especially in a YA book.
2. Jake's character arc. This is a thriller trope I hate, and I hate it even more in a YA mystery. Jake the "perfect" boyfriend with some controlling tendances turns into a psycho killer at the end of the novel. This is just so overdone and not logical. Yes, people who attempt to control their partners are more likely to engage in emotional and physical abuse. But Jake had gone months without the slightest indication that he was escalating after he found out about the cheating (and kept it to himself). His mask didn't even slip once. And by the end we have a crazy action sequence where he is trying to kill two people without any hesitation. It felt forced, and I think Addy's character arc would have been better served without the killer boyfriend trope.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Classism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Stalking, and Transphobia