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thisistrashpsyd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse
lillieapplepie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
jennawhite0813's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Murder, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Gaslighting
Minor: Pedophilia, Death, and Sexual assault
sare1125's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, and Mental illness
stephanieluxton'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
The synopsis of this book doesn't feel totally accurate to me as this book is much more complex than you'd think. Fern and Rose are twins. Rose is neurotypical and Fern is autistic. Rose wants a baby but is struggling with fertility. Fern decides on her own that it'd be a lovely gift for her to have a baby to give Rose since they're twins. Fern wants to find a nice smart man to father the baby. She meets a guys at the library in which she works at and this event triggers a series of happenings that change her life forever and make her question everything she knows about herself and her life.
The author absolutely nailed writing the novel from the autistic perspective of Fern. It's hilarious and endearing. The book also contains excerpts from Roses diary which add context to her relationship with Fern and things that happened in their childhoods. Things start off pretty light then get a bit more tense in the second half. This story ended up being so much more than I expected. I thought it was brilliant.
The audiobook is really well narrated too!
Graphic: Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Murder, Infertility, Pedophilia, and Grief
gretchface85's review against another edition
I aaaaalmost DNF’d this one based on some of the content and not being sure where it was headed, but I stuck with it and am glad I did!
This book touches on some pretty rough stuff but there was only one scene I skipped ahead and I was happy with the ending. I guessed some of it ahead of time, but it didn’t ruin anything for me. If you’re a sensitive reader or I. A sensitive season, I recommend checking the content warnings (story graph is great for that!) before diving in.
Graphic: Child abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Infertility
literarystrawberry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
Another small thing that bothered me a little: I wish that a character hadn't thrown in at the end that the antagonist probably had narcissistic or borderline personality disorder. I'm no expert on either, but it's my understanding that people who are diagnosed with those disorders are already frequently villainized, and I guess I'm just sensitive to the twist being "They're scary because they're mentally ill!" I do understand that mental illness can influence some people to do awful things, and it does seem clear that there's /something/ wrong with the antagonist, but I just don't feel like it was necessary to throw in a specific label so casually. I especially think this since I don't believe the word "autism" was used once in Fern's case (though it was pretty clear that's how she was coded), so it could have been interesting to leave both open to interpretation on the reader's part and let there be some ambiguity and speculation about why the antagonist did what they did.
So yeah, I feel that the ending could have been stronger, but I was definitely invested, and overall I did enjoy it.
Graphic: Emotional abuse and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent and Child death
bookworm_43'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: Death, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Grief, Infertility, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
blondieabrams's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Emotional abuse
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Infertility, Body shaming, and Rape
llamallama527's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Gaslighting and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Pregnancy and Child abuse