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estraat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Infertility, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Infidelity, Child death, Child abuse, and Death
erikagibson126's review against another edition
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Child abuse, Cursing, Medical content, Pregnancy, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Blood
readliketay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Infertility, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Blood, and Grief
kimveach's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Gore, Blood, Classism, Infertility, Medical content, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Grief, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Ableism, Cursing, and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol
scottsmom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Infertility, Infidelity, and Miscarriage
nreyno's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Miscarriage
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Injury/Injury detail
fawns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, Infertility, and Cursing
thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
WOW!!! An incredibly fascinating second novel from Ashley Audrain. I was immediately invested in the deep tangle of suburban domesticity between the three families at the helm of this story, and even the fourth family’s insights sprinkled throughout. Audrain commands your attention with every page, every insane detail that feels hot in your hands, like juicy but disturbing neighborhood gossip you’re only so lucky to be privy too. Like you are one of the periphery moms, whispering about only the surface of the twisted, mangled iceberg.
This is as much a novel about marriages and parent-child relationships under pressure as it is a novel of suspense. Which is to say, this isn’t exactly a thriller, but very much so an intense domestic drama that leaves you clutching at your pearls, as they say, as the characters’ lives unravel. A child in a coma, due to mysterious circumstances. His parents, his neighbors, none of them quite who they seem. Rumors everywhere. Lies as abundant as a cup full of sugar.
I throughly enjoyed this one. I loved the intensity, the explicitness, the shock, every character interwoven into another in the most unexpected ways. This is a deliciously spiraling novel that makes you think a whole lot about the lives of those acquaintances around you that may be entirely different from what you only see from the end of the driveway. Or overheard from an open window…
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Miscarriage, Cursing, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Blood, Emotional abuse, Pregnancy, Self harm, Sexual content, and Violence
Moderate: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Alcohol, Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Vomit, and Suicidal thoughts