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soytaro's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Addiction, Death, and Car accident
The writing is great, but buckle up. It is as if the author tried out a bunch of ideas and kept them all. For me, it was entirely too much in every way.eve_ningsky's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I would've rated this a 2 but it did what it was written for—to make someone cry.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
unpetitchat'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
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
annaavaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
yeldah_reedz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
I can fully say that some parts of this book were the most disturbing and disgusting things I have ever read and made me feel physically ill. There were points in the book where I had to set it down for a bit and take a break before continuing. Even though so much of this book is deeply tragic, it keeps the reader hoping for more and wishing for all the pain and suffering to end for some of the characters. There were happier parts and I did end up laughing while my eyes scanned through some of my favorite parts. The end of the book was bittersweet, tender and felt gratifying despite everything else that happened. The title means more after you read the whole book and the axiom of equality lives in my heart now. Sometimes you expect x from a book, but end up getting x. This book shows how x=x outside of mathematics. Hanya Yanagihara has written an exquisite story that tugs on the readers heartstrings in many more ways than expected. I see this story in the world around me and it feels like I have a fresh brain but in an older and wiser way. I’m not sure what else to say about this book since it left me nearly speechless the moment it ended.
I would just say, read it with caution and don’t read it when you’re in any kind of bad mood since the subjects it contains are quite dark/heavy.
Woop! Woop! Tragic books for the win, am I right?
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
ryoung23's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
There are A LOT of trigger warnings in the book.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Dysphoria
Minor: Addiction and Gaslighting
anemosise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
adamstristan'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
i don’t think i can give it a rating because i don’t know how to condense my feelings about it into a number. i also don’t think i can compare it to any other books i’ve read. i don’t know if i’d even recommend it to anyone or not.
this book was profound and meaningful but also so incredibly long. even though i enjoyed it, at times, it felt like i’d never get through it. however, now after finishing it, i appreciate how long it was because i think it was necessary to spend that much time with the characters to get to know them and understand them.
the writing style was also really confusing at times. the author’s sentences are hard to follow and you need to read very carefully to follow what is being said. the POVs switch with different chapters but there’s no indication of who’s POV it is. you just have to know. same with timelines. you just have to figure it out, which you eventually do pretty easily.
i don’t think i can say much else without giving too much away since its best to know nothing going into it. also if you’re sensitive to literally anything, this book will trigger you so probably look up content warnings before reading.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping
Minor: Car accident
nicole_switzer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I do think that TikTok overhypes this book. It was beautiful and a devastating story, but it was (occasionally) predictable and a little repetitive. By the time I hit page 650/700, I found there wasn't anything new or interesting to be said. I struggled through the last 100-150 page, as they were nearly the same page again and again and again.
It is a beautiful book, well worth the read. I am glad I had it on both audiobook and physical copy though. I would recommend the mixed media method. Also, please check your triggers before reading this book. Triggers for SA, self-harm, suicide and nearly everything in between.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
emily_p1'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: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship