Reviews with content warning for Vomit - Radio Silence

this was one of those books that make you want to get your life together on a random monday afternoon. that make you feel like actually, you can achieve everything you've ever wanted to achieve - at least for a few hours.

this book was exactly what i needed right now.

i read this in two days time. i couldn't put it down, really; i was fueled by the fun story, the short chapters and the general boredom i experience in my day-to-day life.

as someone who's roughly frances' age, thrives off academic validation and is addicted to it like bad drugs, i found the whole academia aspect covered very relatable and ergo also comforting in a way.
truly a nice read.

but i also want to get a little bit into the things i didn't enjoy, because unfortunately the similarities between the characters and me end there.
this book was undoubtedly and so very obviously young adult that some parts of it i just couldn't stand. frances' quirkiness, her constant complains about how 'no one really knows her', the melodramatic way all the characters react to anything happening in their lives, and their childish and uncommunicative behavior - it was a lot.
what i generally dislike about young adult books is that the authors tend to spell everything out for the supposedly young target audience, as was the case here.
most things were super on the nose, sort of cliché and there was a lot of telling instead of showing. whole sentences were sometimes repeated word by word a weird amount of times.
i also had a couple of issues with the story. started strong and stayed strong for a good 3/5 of the book, but ended up getting sillier and sillier as it neared its conclusion.
the climax was disappointing, actually goofy, fairly unrealistic, the characters' motivations utterly incomprehensible. most of the 'plot twists' and revelations were a little predictable as well.

now all of this sounds like i didn't enjoy the book, but i did. i really, really did. i liked the commentary on academia, which i think is still not talked about enough; i liked the dialogue and chemistry between the characters, especially between aled and daniel. at the beginning i didn't like daniel a lot obviously, but he grew to be my favorite character as the story progressed and my hate for aled, his personality and unpredictable character arc developed.
still, their dynamic was one of the things i enjoyed the most. i liked how intertwined their lives seemed to be and the way they communicated.

to sum it up: this one's easy to read, a little silly and frustrating sometimes, but still quick, enjoyable and occasionally really relatable. i know i just gave a hell lot of critique, but believe me, i'm giving this book four stars for a reason. it's got a certain charm to it that i can't quite put my finger on, nor name.
you'll simply have to take my word for it - or don't.

I can take a little beating now and then. I'm a tough one. [...] Even when my bone dust drifts over the City walls, I'll be living and I'll be flying, and I will wave and laugh. (p. 203)

Content Warnings

monarchbooks's review against another edition

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emotional funny mysterious 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

This book made me feel things and I loved it - 12:52 AM thoughts

Content Warnings

fujo_cat's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring 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

4.75

Man, this book was amazing...

As someone who struggled during university and ended up dropping out, I felt it in my soul. Your life's value isn't measured by how accomplished you are in life - if you are happy just working at a cafe or a normal job, then that's fine ❤️ Uni is not for everyone and it shouldn't be what you are forced or expected to do, honestly.

All that spoilery section aside, this book got me emotional so many times and woah, it's so easy to read! I exclusively listened to it and it only took me two or three days ✨💜

Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

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dark hopeful mysterious reflective 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? Yes

4.0

Content Warnings

lyd41's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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

4.75

WHEW this book was a time capsule. It was comforting to read about a girl living life within quite a niche side of the internet (2014 tumblr) that i hadn't heard of anyone else mention until now. ALL of the classics: superwholock references, WELCOME TO NIGHTVALE SINGLE HANDEDLY BASCALLY BEING THE BLUEPRINT, tacky random patterned clothing, microlabeling (which is valid slay), etc. The characters were very realistic and well-written. (....I can see why you liked the characters lyd bc they're basically you...) Also THE DIVERSITY SLAYSSS there's literally INTENTIONAL fat rep that doesn't have anything to do with a weight loss story like thank god that is so hard to come by these days also gotta love aspec rep and lesbian rep and general gay people rep amazing amazing. Took off .25 stars because it was too long. Beginning was boring and around 3/4 of the way in got boring too for a sec. Could have shaved down ~100 pages. However it didn't feel that long because of the short chapters which was a blessing. Compared to Suzanne Collins who writes 15+ page chapters with books a similar length, this book felt MUCH shorter.

Content Warnings

mothie_girlie's review against another edition

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emotional informative inspiring 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? Yes

3.0

Content Warnings

sssssoup's review

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emotional funny hopeful sad 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

4.5

This was a quick read and definitely worth the time it took. It had a plot I’ve never seen before with a cast of likable, realistic characters. I thought the author did a good job of tackling the subject of toxic family members and traumatic experiences, as well as mental illness. It also had one of the most complex and well written central platonic relationships I’ve ever seen. It had a good message and a satisfying ending, too. This is definitely one I think everyone should read at some point.

Content Warnings

emakay's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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