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colorful_lulu's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warning: Dog murder, physically & emotionally abusive parent/mother, mental health
I loved how the main boy-girl friendship that doesn’t become anything romantic. Heck, this is addressed early on in the book that it gets annoying when anonymous Tumblr users and Frances’s so-called “friends” assume that because Frances and Aled have a boy-girl friendship, it’s romantic. Instead, the childhood best friend to lover trope between Aled and Daniel was the only lasting romantic relationship throughout the book.
This book has really an original storyline. You begin with drunk Aled admitting that he’s Radio and Frances trying to form a friendship without ruining it by fangirling, to Aled’s deepest secret splashed all over the internet ruining the trust between them, and ending with Frances, Daniel, Carys, and Raine driving 6 hours to find Aled in university and stopping him from going back to his abusive mother. Even from the beginning, I wanted to scream at how unpredictable, relatable, and just how original the story is. With little details building up to create the final storyline, truly like Universe City.
A final comment: I’m surprised at how little the [b:Heartstopper: Volume One|40495957|Heartstopper Volume One (Heartstopper, #1)|Alice Oseman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541887843l/40495957._SY75_.jpg|62811229] characters are mentioned in the book. The characters never use their name but you know it’s Tori, Charlie, and Nick. And you know that the book takes place after [b:Solitaire|20618110|Solitaire|Alice Oseman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390416741l/20618110._SY75_.jpg|39901420] because of the girl’s school burned down in the prologue and it has been mentioned a couple of times.
I loved how the main boy-girl friendship that doesn’t become anything romantic. Heck, this is addressed early on in the book that it gets annoying when anonymous Tumblr users and Frances’s so-called “friends” assume that because Frances and Aled have a boy-girl friendship, it’s romantic. Instead, the childhood best friend to lover trope between Aled and Daniel was the only lasting romantic relationship throughout the book.
This book has really an original storyline. You begin with drunk Aled admitting that he’s Radio and Frances trying to form a friendship without ruining it by fangirling, to Aled’s deepest secret splashed all over the internet ruining the trust between them, and ending with Frances, Daniel, Carys, and Raine driving 6 hours to find Aled in university and stopping him from going back to his abusive mother. Even from the beginning, I wanted to scream at how unpredictable, relatable, and just how original the story is. With little details building up to create the final storyline, truly like Universe City.
A final comment: I’m surprised at how little the [b:Heartstopper: Volume One|40495957|Heartstopper Volume One (Heartstopper, #1)|Alice Oseman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1541887843l/40495957._SY75_.jpg|62811229] characters are mentioned in the book. The characters never use their name but you know it’s Tori, Charlie, and Nick. And you know that the book takes place after [b:Solitaire|20618110|Solitaire|Alice Oseman|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1390416741l/20618110._SY75_.jpg|39901420] because of the girl’s school burned down in the prologue and it has been mentioned a couple of times.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Murder, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Gaslighting, and Grief
lolajh's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
5.0
ALICE FUCKING OSEMAN. Holy shit. Each book I read of Alice’s is somehow better than the last. This book had everything: brown and other poc main characters, bisexual, lesbian, gay, aspec and pansexual characters, and all of these characters not being in there just for the rep but having vital roles in the story. Reading this book as a teenager did allow me to reflect a lot on myself, as this books portrays beautifully how teenagers interact and behave and stress about adulthood, but it also says that university isn’t the only option for having a successful and enjoyable life, which is such an incredibly important theme needed in contemporary books like these aimed towards young adults. This book’s portrayal of mental illnesses as well was perfect and relatable, whilst heartbreaking. How Alice is able to portray all these themes so perfectly I will never know.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Confinement, Mental illness, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Murder, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, and Grief
Moderate: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Sexual harassment, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Sexual content
jil_m's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
Wow. Such a good book! I am speechless. Alice Oseman really is the Jane Austen of Gen Z. The characters are so diverse, so powerful and so well written, there is no way you can’t love the main characters. I especially am very fond of Raine. Always supported Frances wherever she could. I think this might be one of my new favorite books. It’s so original, modern, diverse, well written and well thought out. The only thing I would like to add is the fact that we knew a lot about the concept of university with, but we didn’t really got to know a lot about the story. We basically got thrown in the middle of a fire hoping that we’d escape ourselves. A part from that, a book that will carry my heart and tears.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Murder, Animal death, Animal cruelty, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Body shaming, Death, Grief, Torture, and Toxic friendship
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