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k_shimer's review
- 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
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Suicide
Minor: Medical content, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Dementia, Alcoholism, Blood, and Death of parent
bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Medical content, Alcoholism, Ableism, Murder, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Racism, Suicide, Bullying, Chronic illness, Grief, and Sexism
the_cat_on_a_bookcase's review
- 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
3.0
Minor: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Death, Ableism, and Murder
thrym's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Racism and Ableism
Minor: Suicide
Written in the 70s, the book does a pretty good job pointing out how reductive stereotyping can be....and then falls into some infantalizing orientalism itself. It course-corrects pretty quickly, but it's still jarring and not great.podanotherjessi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
There is some very outdated language. Mostly in reference to a character with a physical difficulty, and one directed toward a Chinese character. But for a book that's nearly 50 years old, that's not terrible. The Asian representation is dubious. Mrs. Hoo was hard to read at times.
Beyond that, however, the story itself is really fun! Even though I remembered a lot of details of the mystery, I still found myself surprised at some of the reveals. And I didn't find myself annoyed at the characters not figuring out what I already knew. The characters weren't super deep, but they did show growth, and there was some great theming around not judging on first impressions only.
The ending was maybe overly cheesy, but I didn't mind too much. I even felt myself getting a little emotional.
Overall, I don't know whether I could recommend this to someone who doesn't have the nostalgia attached that I do. But I think it could be a fun book to share with a child, while understanding there would need to be some discussion over the dated elements.
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Death
m_parker9612's review
- 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: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Murder, Death, and Alcoholism
brogan7's review
4.5
I don't know if we're supposed to be able to solve the mystery while reading; I certainly couldn't, I wasn't even sure what we were solving in some parts, but it was an entertaining read anyhow.
Moderate: Ableism and Death
hedyharper's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
Moderate: Abandonment, Ableism, Alcohol, Classism, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Racism, Violence, and Car accident
bookish_bry's review
- 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
The end was surprisingly melancholy and I was not expecting it.
Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Ableism, and Racism
kwichris's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Ableism and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide and Fire/Fire injury