Reviews tagging 'Death'

Roxy by Jarrod Shusterman, Neal Shusterman

38 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review

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challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced
  • 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

Roxy by Neil and Jarrod Shusterman was compelling from the first page. I loved the perspective changes (which is rare for me) and thought they added a lot to the narrative. I also loved the characters and the complexity of their interactions. Addiction is a really difficult topic, but the way these characters interacted made it manageable and digestible. For me it was a very mind-opening read, and allows you to think in hard topics in a more controlled setting. I did find the story a bit predictable as details began to be revealed, but that didn’t stop this book from being really entertaining and thought provoking. I think if you’re looking for a unique book to add to your TBR, this one is definitely worth your time.

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_throne_of_roses_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? N/A
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5


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drastichopeful's review

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challenging dark sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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sjknova's review

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challenging dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75


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randombookgirl's review

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dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

5.0


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shellbell_04's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75


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cheesy_crackers's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • 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

4.5

really impactful, but the ending was kinda predictable for me

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devowynn's review

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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yourlocalvirgo's review against another edition

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3.5

I enjoyed the writing in this book - Neal Shusterman just has a way to completely enamor me - and I greatly enjoy reading stories about addiction, drugs, mental health, etc. However, this book felt less about drugs and more about fantasy. The personification of the drugs was a neat twist - but it left me with a lot of questions that bug me to my core. I also disliked the perspectives that the book was written in - it was very difficult to feel sympathetic for the characters. I also don't think the character's actions were entirely realistic - I wanted to see more internal dialogue of the characters mentally struggling with their addictions, instead of flippantly deciding to "take another pill to stay focused". 
All in all, this was a decent read, but it was lacking in a few areas that really could've made it a great read. Perhaps this would've been better off as a short story, similar to the individual excerpts from each drug we saw within every chapter.

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sienna1508's review

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challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • 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

5.0

This is definitely one of my favourite books!! The whole book is so well written and really hooked me. The blurb for this book is a little confusing so let me re-write it: 
Drugs are personified to be like deities, existing and interacting with you when they take that drug. Most of them have the goal of taking the person to 'the Party' which is where they can be handed off to 'stronger' drugs or taken into the VIP room which is the equivalent of ODing. 
So a massive TW for drug abuse, plus also toxic relationship. 
<minor-spoiler> The story mainly follows a brother and sister Isaac and Ivy, and you learn from the first chapter that one of them dies, you just don't know who. </minor-spoiler> 
Doing some research into who the characters are before reading the book is useful, for example, Mary Jane is marijuana, and she has a business suit because she is legalised now. So all of the drugs have their own corresponding personality and description. 
Overall, this book is amazing and should definitely be read by more people. 

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