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yvo_about_books's review against another edition
2.0
“It's important to remember that we all change each other's minds all the time. Any good story is a mind-altering substance.”
WARNING: it's another unpopular opinion review!!
I know that this isn't exactly my typical read, but I was pleasantly surprised by the first book back when I read it two years ago. I then discovered that the sequel fitted more than one 2024 challenge, and I decided to pick up A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor on a whim. I'm not sure if I was simply in the wrong reading mood or if this sequel is really quite different from the first book, but the fact is that I ended up struggling immensely with this story. I came close to DNFing more than once, and I kind of wish I had to be honest. Don't get me wrong, this series in general has a very interesting concept and the Carls were fascinating to read about. It was in the execution and plot structure where this story lost me... A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor uses a multiple POV structure on top of mixed media pieces inserted into the plot, and the result ended up being a bit of a muddled and chaotic mess. The plot jumps all over the place, and certain POVs are extremely tedious and slow down the pace a LOT. There was an overdose of focus on politics and social issues, and at times it felt more like propaganda rather than a YA sci-fi read. Seriously, I was bored to tears at times, and I caught myself skimreading more than once. The social media angle and virtual reality addiction was neat, but it kind of got buried under too many other elements to make a real impact. The plot itself was slowgoing with so much focus on the 'propaganda' part, and as a result the story dragged considerably and was simply way too overlong. I confess that I skimread most of the second half, and I kind of wish I had just DNFed it instead... There is no doubt that A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor and me REALLY didn't get along. That said, I seem to be in the minority, so it might just be my fickle reading mood acting up again.
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Body horror, Bullying, Classism, Xenophobia, Violence, Sexual content, Slavery, Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Racism, Toxic relationship, Abandonment, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Addiction, Blood, Confinement, Grief, and Physical abuse
jerseynoonatic'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
3.0
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Confinement, Gun violence, Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, and Vomit
zasmayaya'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? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Kidnapping
Minor: Drug use, Blood, and Confinement
saricostanzo'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: Addiction, Emotional abuse, Body horror, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, Cursing, Violence, Kidnapping, Blood, Classism, Gaslighting, Racism, Death, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Physical abuse
Minor: Suicide
claudiamacpherson'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
4.0
Moderate: Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Colonisation, Classism, Confinement, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Xenophobia, Kidnapping, Vomit, and Gun violence
Minor: Medical content, Physical abuse, Medical trauma, Misogyny, and Racism
calamitywindpetal'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: Confinement, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit, Sexism, and Death
edgario'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Cursing, Gore, Sexual content, and Body horror
Gwen stefanitheirgracegrace'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
4.5
Graphic: Cursing
Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Medical content, Medical trauma, Injury/Injury detail, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Colonisation, Racism, Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Murder, Mental illness, and Death
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I think the first book had to do a lot of unfortunate fame- and internet-related groundwork to make this book possible, so for those who felt let down by An Absolutely Remarkable Thing, I urge you to continue with this sequel. I liked the first one fine, but this one is indeed remarkable.
I'm a sucker for an ensemble cast, and the plot offers a lot of insight into current affairs. Occasionally a bit too close for comfort – akin to reading 1984 in 1984, I imagine. A timely and skillfully executed science fiction story.
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing, Kidnapping, Racism, Violence, and Vomit
Not explicitly police brutality, but a scene with a police altercation may be upsetting. Some dicussions of and/or conflations of reality vs virtual reality may be upsetting.samchase112's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
People will just share the things that confirm their ideology, and those things will always exist. Our reality isn't about what's real, it's about what we pay attention to.
This is not a book about aliens or science --- it's a book about community, power, compassion, and how humanity uses and abuses the tools we have created in order to manipulate those things. A Beautifully Foolish Endeavor is deeply weird, yet profoundly true. I want to go back and highlight about 65% of Hank's words. It is obvious this is all coming from a place of caring and social media/celebrity experience; as well as the human experience we can all relate to. I cannot recommend this book and its insanely relevant messages enough.
Graphic: Kidnapping and Confinement
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Stalking, Police brutality, Gun violence, Cursing, Blood, Addiction, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Vomit, Outing, and Grief