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fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief
Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Dementia, Alcohol
Minor: Vomit
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
the writing style felt unfinished and like it was trying too hard to be poetic. there were times when I literally laughed out loud because of how ridiculous it sounded. the twist was good but I had almost no reaction to it, just kept reading like 'oh ok'. it wasn't horrible tho so 3 stars
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Racism
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Wow, I don't know where to begin. It's a stunningly beautiful, painful piece of literature. It hurt to read, but I was utterly engrossed the entire way through. I sank into the mystery of the book quickly, enthralled until the end. The twist ending made me want to pick up the book and immediately read it all over again. I cannot recommend this book enough. It undoubtedly lives up to the hype!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Racism, Grief
Moderate: Alcoholism
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Grief
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Murder
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Since this is such a strong "go in blind book" that you shouldn't even know anything before reading the first page, time to spoiler tag my entire review.
first off, I really liked the writing style. I like quick reads and the fact there were less words per line made me finish this book in a day. It was easy for me to read, as well, even though some of the metaphors seemed more literal than figurative (I've seen other reviews wonder if Cady explaining her blood wrists were just a metaphor, and honestly, I dont know either).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Other than that, I actually found myself relating to the main character. I'm poor as fuck, never committed a crime, and dont have migraines - but I do have memory loss due to neurological issues that wiped most of my teenage memories completely and made my mother constantly worried about me. I understood when she said she didn't want to be pitied, and then Gat said well why the fuck you saying all this shit about your migraines then. Like, dude, just because she doesn't want to be pitied doesn't mean her migraines poof! become less of her life.
And same with the romance. Sadly I still remember some of my pathetic flings, how as a youngster you think the first love is real and forever and the best thing since Betty White. The romance was a damn mess but didn't we all make bad, cringey, makes us look back and think "oh no girl what are you doing" type relationship choices as teens.
And.. the twist. Goddamnit I picked it up right away.. when Cady realized no one was responding to her emails. Yeah the first thought should be "they're too rich to care about their email account", but with how absent they were my mind went straight to "they're dead aren't they. Oh no you better not". And they were. Even worse, why not throw them in as ghosts and badly explain the whole entire last part of the book. And the whole reveal be a fire. All died in a fire. And became ghosts. What a twist. Yaaaawn. When it comes to rich people drama, The Cousins by Karen McManus came out on top. That's the type of twist I was looking for, not something on the same level as "it was all just a dream!" (But instead, replace dream with ghosts).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical trauma
Moderate: Blood, Dementia, Grief
Minor: Infidelity, Death of parent
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
read it in a few hours
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Racism, Dementia, Medical trauma
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is the perfect "read in one sitting" kind of book, and I found the twist to be both unexpected and satisfying (which is hard to do). A quick, interesting read, with a perfectly flawed and unreliable protagonist/narrator.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Grief, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug use, Racism, Suicidal thoughts
dark
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Grief
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Dementia, Grief, Medical trauma