Reviews - The Greatest Thing

429 reviews for:

The Greatest Thing

Sarah Winifred Searle

4.0 AVERAGE

agirlwhoreads's review

3.0

challenging emotional hopeful informative sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jakinabook's review

4.25

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

brookworm's review

4.0

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Content Warnings

missindyrose's review

4.75

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Content Warnings

b_robinson's review

2.0

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: No

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I think that this can be interpreted as an important story, but honestly I found it frustrating and almost hopeless to read at times. It was a lot more intense than I thought it would be, especially considering I went into it thinking I'd get some cute happy vibes.

Like the detrimentally obsessive thoughts had such a strong presence all throughout, which made me a bit uncomfortable. Lots of internalised fat phobia and a bit of biphobia as well. An eating disorder was displayed through a REALLY unreliable narrator, and while this was sorta discussed, it still felt a bit vague and didn't actually explain clearly to the reader (keep in mind the target audience is young teens moving away from kids graphic novels/comics) that it was disordered eating and something that must be addressed. Self-harming was also evident, and again felt a little under-explained.

So maybe I'm salty that it didn't match the teen fluff that I thought it was going to be, but I do think it's valid to consider that the way some of the more mature issues weren't appropriate for the target reading audience.

There was some good rep though; a bisexual male character, a few wlw's, potentially a gender queer teen (still not quite sure but most likely), and a trans teacher.

g_c_geeks's review

4.5

emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

I loved this. The art was beautiful, and my oh my was the story emotional. It really encapsulates being a teenager and all the struggles that can come with it.
It touches on so many different topics, and sometimes I wish it just developed them the tiniest bit more. That’s why it’s not quite 5 stars for me, I just feel like some parts were left behind.
But I love the messages and it’s a very cute graphic novel, with a focus on friendship and self acceptance <3