Reviews with content warning for Child death - Molto più di questo

I really liked Seth as a character, loved how reflective and emotional especially the first half of the book was, and I liked how all of it worked together. For some reason I still had to fight to pick the book up every now and then, because even though I loved everything about it, it kind of exhausted me to read it, but I wouldn’t say it’s a bad book. Not at all.

Even though it sure as hell isn’t what I expected. I don’t even know why, the blurb even compared the story to

Matrix and Inception

(on my version at least), so I most definitely should have seen all of that coming, but just nothing else (least of all the very calm green cover of somebody watching the sea) prepared me for everything after the first Part of the book, and so it took me completely by surprise. But somehow it worked.

The book feels like it changes the Genre completely after the first part, and suddenly it’s from this very slow and reflective pace and a person trying to process their life and accept their choices to a science fiction novel with fights and the world ending and stuff, and I feel like it should have taken me out of the whole situation, but it didn’t. It felt right for it to take this path.

Seth was a great main character, and I love him. He makes mistakes, is pretty self-centered (a lot, at least, not always), but also he was really lovely and it felt like he was right. Yeah, he did stupid stuff, and yeah, maybe he did make rash decisions, and maybe it wasn’t all about him and he shouldn’t have done some stuff or assumed some things, but … it made sense, for his character, to be that way, and it made sense why he felt like he felt, and with all his problems and flaws he was still great.

Same goes for Tomasz, who’s by far my favorite (he had to go through so much, and he’s so strong, and yet he still manages to be happy, and to fight for his happiness, and he’s trying to make everyone feel better, and I just love that strong little fighter so much, you have no idea!), and of course Regine, too. She’s also great. A little cold, but as much a fighter as the rest, and she tries too, and god, do I love that she knows what she wants. Yeah, she’s judgmental (of course she is) and she probably could try to be better, but it’s so obvious where she’s coming from, and it made just as much sense for her to be the way she was as it made for the rest of them, and I just love all the characters.

I also liked all of the stories and the people connected to them, and it was really interesting to get to know the world all of them lived in. Also really liked the conclusion of all of it, and to get to know what happened together with the characters, and my heart absolutely broke a few times, and I very much did almost cry a few times, too, but it still felt like a nice story. And even though it got very dark at times, and so sad, it never felt too much for me. It was always quite balanced, in my opinion, and actually had quite a hopeful feel to it a lot of the time (even though it was very hopeless at other times).

The only thing I didn’t like about the book, was the ending. Or I like the ending, actually, but I didn’t like where it ended. I really wanted to know just a little bit more of what would happen next.

Mostly because from the beginning there was nothing I wanted more than for the parents to actually actively realize that maybe they have two kids and one of those kids doesn’t feel like his parents care all that much, and I really wanted to see them at least starting to work through all of that.

But it did work, and I’m not really disappointing or anything because most of the stuff was there, and I like where all the characters ended up (for now).

Had a lot of fun with that story. Really surprising, didn’t know what I’d get myself into, and maybe shouldn’t have worked, but somehow did. For me at least. But also I like slow books, and you have to get through a lot of slow scenes, before it speeds up quite a lot, so probably not for everyone.

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madelinesedai's review against another edition

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dark emotional tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Content Warnings

criticalmiss's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny mysterious medium-paced

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? N/A

4.5

4.5 ⭐️ (spoilers ahead)
This book had me guessing and it really shifted as you went along. The first part was a bit slow as Seth was alone and trying to figure out what this work was all about but once you hit part 2 and onwards it picks up.
Once you find out that it might be a simulation they woke up from, it gave me a bit of Matrix vibes (real world vs the online one) I enjoyed the bond between Seth, Regine and Tomasz, I believed it. And the Driver was a great villain? Entity? And you never quite know all the answers
TW: suicide, death, child abuse, child death, lgbtq harassment

Content Warnings

sk_milky's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

morgane3471's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I was 120 pages in and ready to DNF it. I was wondering if there was going to be some more actions or if it was going to be Seth only trying to discover where he was.

Thankfully the other characters appeared quickly after.

I enjoyed the story and the way the book is written. I felt sad for the characters. It is clearly a YA book but still enjoyable.

Wish I had some answers about what the driver was and what happened to the characters after he died but otherwise solid story.

Content Warnings

autumngrace08's review against another edition

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challenging dark sad medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

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arlorees's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious tense medium-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

I struggled with the first 70 or so pages feeling slow or like not much was happening, but when the first of many plot twists occurred I couldn't put it down. Give it a chance.

Content Warnings

leopoldtf's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious medium-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? No

4.25

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