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lindsaylhunter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I believe that all forms of media that tell a story—be it a book, a movie or a play—need to allow their respective audiences to bask in truly joyful moments, however brief, but there was almost no reprieve from the miseries thrown at the main character in this book, and even his "happy" moments were undercut by his perpetual self-loathing. I understand that the author wanted to showcase the limits of human suffering (and the seemingly endless content warnings attached seem to prove that), but I can't in good conscience give this one any higher a rating than I have done. It truly reached a point where each new misery brought a sense of tedium to the story.
All that said, I enjoyed the shuffling of narratives and being left to guess who was doing the speaking. I'll never deny the author the credit she deserves for making so many people feel so deeply for fictional characters.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Self harm, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Addiction, Violence, Car accident, Drug abuse, Cancer, and Gaslighting
helena_sp_07's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Excrement, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Addiction, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Domestic abuse, Gore, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Outing, Eating disorder, Drug use, and Alcohol
Minor: Dementia, Pregnancy, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cancer, Hate crime, and Torture
alisonannk's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Car accident, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Bullying, Dysphoria, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Blood, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Child death, Chronic illness, Gore, Outing, Sexual violence, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, and Trafficking
Moderate: Dementia, Alcoholism, Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Alcohol, Racism, Cancer, and Vomit
riella_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Sexual assault, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Drug abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Bullying, Cancer, Chronic illness, Grief, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Self harm, Child death, Homophobia, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicide
stitchbooks22's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Violence, Eating disorder, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Drug use, Gore, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Fatphobia, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Outing, Ableism, Acephobia/Arophobia, Addiction, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
anton13's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Violence, Suicide, Vomit, Blood, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, Addiction, Drug use, Terminal illness, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Grief, Medical content, Self harm, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Confinement, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Chronic illness, Dementia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
atridie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Sometimes it’s easy to confuse shock value with good writing; and in this case, there’s shock value on top of shock value on top of shock value, and for no other purpose than shocking, to the point where it’s almost funny.
It’s a pathetic attempt to induce feelings in a way that feels forced and artificial. I admit that it made me cry, but mostly I was just angry at how awful the book is. And side note: as a person with a history of self-harm, the book felt like a spit in the face.
“The book follows the story of four friends…” no it does not? Malcolm dissapears pretty quickly. JB only comes back when it’s convenient, in order to push Jude’s story forward. Speaking of, I really don’t care about Jude. He feels like a cardboard cutout of a person. I don’t even know why any of them are friends.
“The writing is gorgeous though” it’s very mediocre.
I will never complain about a book ever again because there’s no way I can find something worse than this. I don’t understand why it’s so praised, or why it was published in the first place.
Graphic: Child abuse, Blood, Grief, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Medical content, Rape, Body horror, Car accident, Death, Vomit, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Confinement, Religious bigotry, and Infertility
Minor: Cancer, Death of parent, and Dementia
satana17's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Addiction, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Rape, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Grief, Gore, Trafficking, and Body horror
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, Child death, Dementia, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Terminal illness, Hate crime, and Racism
oops_i_read_it_again's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Chronic illness, Violence, Sexual assault, Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Cursing, Suicide, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Death of parent, Dementia, Drug abuse, Drug use, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Classism, Dysphoria, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
itskarla's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Rape, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Drug use
Minor: Car accident, Cancer, and Child death