Reviews with content warning for Car accident - Verona Comics

Reviews tagging 'Car accident'

Verona Comics by Jennifer Dugan

23 reviews

the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book dragged on for me, especially when it came to the relationship between Jubilee and Ridley. They had no chemistry and the relationship felt really unbalanced between them. The relationship struck me as dysfunctional from the book's outset.

Content Warnings

wardenred's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful 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

How can I tell if it’s my gut talking or my myriad of anxiety disorders?

Even through a big, long reading slump, I really enjoyed this freeform retelling of Romeo & Juliet. It's a queer m/f romance (one of the leads is bi, the other still hasn't found a label that fits her) with a focus on mental health and co-dependency. I felt like both subjects were handled thoughtfully and realistically. There were a lot of familiar moments here, reminding me of the mistakes I made when I was younger.

It took me a bit to get used to Jubilee's narrator. On the other hand, Michael Crouch won my heart immediately with the way he handled Ridley's chapters. He did a great job making Ridley's anxiety and depression tangible in each line. I also really liked how the texting chapters were handled, with the audio effects and with both narrators present.

I do wish the book was presented in a way that's more compatible with its contents. The cover and the blurb both make me think I'm in for a light-hearted romcom, and this book isn't that. Yes, there are plenty of cute moments, but overall, the story is pretty heavy and involves dark subjects such as suicidal behavior and domestic abuse. I'm glad I skimmed some reviews before I read it; otherwise I would have expected something very different, and it would have impacted my perception of this overall great novel.

Content Warnings

bleaksalad's review against another edition

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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

4.0

Verona Comics was a refreshing take on the “you’ve got mail” retelling trend that I’ve come to love so much. I went into this thinking it was going to be a geeky meet-cute that centered around con culture but was pleasantly surprised by an incredibly diverse cast of characters that take on mental health, defining sexuality, and young love. Ridley’s point of view does an AMAZING job of depicting anxiety and the LGBTQ+ representation felt genuine instead of a targeted plot point. Overall, not what I expected, but a heartwarming surprise.

Content Warnings

plumpaperbacks's review against another edition

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emotional 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

4.0

As soon as I finished Dugan’s book Some Girls Do last week, I knew I wanted to read more from her. Lucky me, my library had an ebook of Verona Comics readily available, so I checked it out. I don’t even remember if I read the synopsis; I just guessed from the title it was a Romeo and Juliet retelling and went from there. I’m a bit impulsive when it comes to books, haha.

Anyway, here I am, having read two of Dugan’s books out of three. While Verona Comics didn’t have quite the same effect on me that Some Girls Do did, I still really enjoyed it. I immediately loved both Jubilee and Ridley, and related to the latter much more than I thought I would. The self-deprecation, the bad relationship with his father…. just call me out, Ms. Dugan, why don’t you. Startling similarities aside, Ridley must be protected at all costs.

I also really liked Jubilee’s friends, and her moms. All of the relationships were so well-written, and seeing her parents lowkey adopt Ridley made my heart happy. I’d like to be first in line behind Jubilee to punch Ridley’s father in the face. With a chair. I’m glad that the poor boy had his sister, at least. I liked Gray, and their bond.

I really like modern retellings of classics, and Dugan did a great job with this redone R&J. Although I occasionally thought some aspects of the feud were a bit too dramatic, it mostly worked out. The indie store vs corporation theme also felt very prevalent to today’s society.

There were some other prevalent discussions and themes too, like Jubilee wondering if she can be bi/pansexual even though she’s never dated a girl, and co-dependency in a relationship. Just like with SGD, I felt the balance between this heavier content and lighter moments was perfectly done, making for an emotional but not overly devastating read.

Not gonna lie though, the last third of the book really hurt my heart, and had me worrying. I know suicidal thoughts are mentioned in the content warnings, but I want to mention again that they’re there. I don’t know that I’ve read any other books with a character presently having such blatant thoughts like that, so while I do want more people to read this book, bear that in mind if you do.

I was so relieved that this book had a better ending than the story that inspired it. I won’t say much, but it was good, and it was hopeful, and I liked it.

It’s safe to say that Dugan is creeping her way up my favorite contemporary authors list. I’m definitely looking forward to seeing what she does in the future.

Representation

queer questioning protagonist
bisexual protagonist
Black lesbian side character
Korean side character
Latine sapphic side character
bisexual side character
two sapphic side couples (f/f)

Content Warnings

eli37's review against another edition

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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

I didn’t realise it was a Romeo and Juliet retelling until I was halfway through it, and I don’t know why I still get surprised when the “Romeo” character ends up being a dick.

Content Warnings