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janneke2302's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- 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
2.0
I don't know how I feel about this book. On the one hand it was beautiful and tragic and nearly made me cry when I finished it. On the other hand, it was also still disappointing. There were many throwaway lines that were transphobic and/or bodyshaming, which made me very uncomfortable. They were not a plit point or even a point of discussion, but instead felt very internalized. Now for the spoilery part of my review: I greatly disliked Zoe's choices at about two thirds of the book. She knows her choices are wrong, but the way she describes it doesn't feel as if she feels guilt for them. She is knowingly hurting both of her love interests with her decisions. While she and Aaron do have a confrontation and forgiveness, Max never gets that. The infidelity scenes between Zoe and Aaron felt awful to read. I felt horrible for Max, who really hadn't done anything to deserve getting hurt.
I predicted the ending of Max being the one who died in an accidental way quite early on in the book, but was still disappointed by it. This is a book where the premise is that a girl writes her deepest darkest secret to a murderer on death row. While I didn't want anything to happen to either Max or Aaron, that premise did make me want to read about her deciding to kill someone, instead of it being accidental. It felt like a bit of a letdown after I spent the entire book wondering what drove her to kill someone. At the same time, I was disappointed that Max was the one who died. Throughout the book, I feel like he was a quite passive character who was only there to be used and to be an obstacle between Zoe and Aaron. Even in Zoe's letters, she still writes with much more care and love about Aaron than about Max, even though Max is the one who's dead
I predicted the ending of Max being the one who died in an accidental way quite early on in the book, but was still disappointed by it. This is a book where the premise is that a girl writes her deepest darkest secret to a murderer on death row. While I didn't want anything to happen to either Max or Aaron, that premise did make me want to read about her deciding to kill someone, instead of it being accidental. It felt like a bit of a letdown after I spent the entire book wondering what drove her to kill someone. At the same time, I was disappointed that Max was the one who died. Throughout the book, I feel like he was a quite passive character who was only there to be used and to be an obstacle between Zoe and Aaron. Even in Zoe's letters, she still writes with much more care and love about Aaron than about Max, even though Max is the one who's dead
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Infidelity
Moderate: Confinement, Alcohol, and Murder
Minor: Abortion, Body shaming, Bullying, and Transphobia
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