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danicampbell0506'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
3.25
Graphic: Child death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Mental illness
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia
4l3yda'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: Bullying, Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child death, Genocide, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, and Homophobia
Minor: Cancer and Deadnaming
safety_pin'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? N/A
2.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcohol, Death, Child death, Alcoholism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Addiction, Outing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Blood, Cursing, and Homophobia
Minor: Car accident
sierrabowers'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
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Toxic relationship, Death, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Violence, and Toxic friendship
bailee_c'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
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Suicide
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
katiebookedout'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Suicide
Moderate: Grief, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, and Suicidal thoughts
merah's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
elle_dee'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
3.0
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Alcoholism, Car accident, Death, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
creepypiespice'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: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Cancer, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Racism, and Pregnancy