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neliadiedenise'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: Alcohol, Car accident, Blood, Child abuse, Toxic friendship, Violence, Abandonment, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Death, and Murder
bea_reads_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
There's this reporter guy who’s supposedly trying to make it look like Tripp and his friends are guilty of murder, and the set up in the first half made it seem like this would be a much bigger issue. But then it just isn’t. Nothing happens at all.
Also, this author has her character profiles and just recycles them for new books, or at least it seems like that sometimes. She really likes the “deadbeat mom is back in town” trope too.
Moderate: Car accident and Alcoholism
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
danilo_syrtis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse and Child abuse
pianoplayer279's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Death and Murder
Moderate: Child abuse
lias_library22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Violence, Child abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, and Car accident
spookily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Car accident, Classism, Gun violence, Blood, Bullying, Kidnapping, and Grief
Minor: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Dementia, Homophobia, Child abuse, Classism, and Cursing
orlie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
notapenguin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Murder
Moderate: Blood
greenlivingaudioworm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Moderate: Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder
abbeyroad1410's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Additionally, the gun you see in Act 1 always comes back in Act 3. Charlotte being unnecessarily mean and defensive through the majority of the book is going to be given an explanation by the end of the novel. That being said, sometimes there are too many tidbits that need to be wrapped up. In this case, because so much needed to be given a meaning, the ending seemed a bit rushed which left me with a lackluster feeling. Even some parts in the middle of the book were wrapped up a bit too quickly (aka how did one character recover from alcoholic tendencies in a week).
One thing this book does extremely well is show the sometimes exploitive nature of the true crime industry. The show Motive has good intentions, but commercializing it causes it to take more capitalistic approaches and shy away from stories that may need attention. The rival show it is contrasted with is worse, paying people to alter stories to their benefit. This underlying and not always obvious critique of true crime was an interesting addition to the novel.
Graphic: Death and Kidnapping
Minor: Child abuse