Scan barcode
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
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
denisescoffeebreak'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? Yes
5.0
I think it was written beautifully, at some point it wasn’t reading but almost like watching the scenes of a movie right before my eyes.
We know from the start of the book that Jude is such a troubled character and that really does make you affectionate to his character - he isn’t against recovery, he just can’t excuse it for himself, he grew up learning to only allow pain in his life and that itself it’s such a difficult thing to unlearn.
There wasn’t any need for William to do a proper coming out, even his relationship with Jude didn’t really revolve around their sexuality but the respect and trust in each-other, so why is there a need to specify their sexuality? who cares.
The book was indeed very very heavy on the subjects but in my opinion it was expected - I think it’s not a reason to bash the book, that’s low key what it is known for, it is not an easy read, which is why I (like many others) suggest you check the trigger warnings before reading.
I sometimes had to put down the book to take a big breath but that’s what made me like it even more, it touched me enough to have a physical reaction lol.
One thing I didn’t like it’s yet another representation of a toxic gay love story, although again (sorry) expected in this book (that I know it’s not known for it’s”love story” though, which is good).
Anyways five starts because it really touched me and I couldn’t put it down. :)
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicide, Body horror, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pedophilia, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical content, Sexual violence, Death of parent, Medical trauma, and Trafficking
aliceelizabethb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Addiction, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pedophilia, Medical content, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Outing, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Torture, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Car accident, Drug use, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
grboph'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
3.5
Graphic: Drug use, Suicide, Ableism, Eating disorder, Medical content, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Chronic illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Body shaming, Child death, Addiction, Gore, Body horror, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Confinement
Moderate: Abandonment, Stalking, Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Infidelity, Classism, and Terminal illness
Minor: Homophobia, Medical trauma, and Outing
luciiee'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? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Ableism, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, and Violence
gigireadswithkiki's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
- The fatphobia: this book constantly ridicules fat persons, both in the language that is used to craft their existence, or in the way that these characters are treated by others (see: JB).
- The transphobia: in one scene, a side character is having, what is presumed to be, a transitioning party. At no point within the text does the author nor the characters switch their use of pronouns after learning this.
- The friendships: I've heard people talk MANY times about how this book is such a good marker of friendship. It is not. The friendships in this book are unhealthy, borderline abusive. The characters hold their friends on pedestals, refusing to see any flaws from their friends. The OTHER OPTION is that the characters view their friends suffering and flat out, selfishly refuse to see past it, as if nothing is wrong.
- The depiction of queer relationships: Yanagihara disgusts me. The constant depiction of MLM relationships as something "wrong", as something "disgusting" eventually culminating to Queer tragedy felt so utterly wrong. She did not handle Queer issues with any grace, instead choosing to force trauma upon trauma upon Queer characters
- The trauma: at a certain point in the book, I started to roll my eyes at the amount that Jude suffered. Not because he deserved it, but because each time the reader thinks things might get to a place that is okay, Yanagihara thrusts something in the readers faces, as if to say "NO! LOOK! LOOK! ACTUALLY IT"S JUST BAD!" I don't fucking care that she intended this book to be a reflection of cherishing life's happy moments. What came across was horrendous.
- The self harm: after a number of repetitions, the self harm in the book felt so fucking blasè. Yes we know this character is harming themselves. why the fuck did you feel the need to detail every single tiny detail of it. every. single. time. To what purpose does this serve but to the author's disgusting twisted sense of shock value.
I don't know why i finished this book. I truly don't. I'm reevaluating the last couple days of my life and the use of my free time. Don't read this book. If you're looking for depictions of trauma on a similar scale but with ACTUAL meaning and purpose within a story, just read The Poppy War for christssake.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Forced institutionalization, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Ableism, Addiction, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Biphobia, Acephobia/Arophobia, Stalking, Torture, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Outing, Body horror, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, Fatphobia, Bullying, Grief, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Dysphoria, Excrement, Gaslighting, and Gore
emmahansen'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Addiction, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Car accident, Body horror, Body shaming, Death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, Mental illness, Grief, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
melisayasilem'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Ableism, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Vomit, Abandonment, Child death, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Alcohol, Biphobia, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Hate crime, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Toxic relationship, and Excrement
Minor: Classism, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Car accident, Confinement, Excrement, and Outing
This book is not for the weak, it gets very graphic in some chapters and you might have to put it down for a bit. But it also makes you want to continue reading because you get very attached to the characters. Sexual assault and suicidal thoughts are very much present, to the point where you sometimes have to think hard to understand why the character thinks that way.introverted_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Ableism, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Blood, Car accident, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Moderate: Acephobia/Arophobia, Outing, Stalking, Transphobia, Biphobia, and Excrement