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susanrosethewriter's review against another edition
dark
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
bananareader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Minor: Animal death and Cursing
_laurakate's review against another edition
3.0
Very fun except for when it was not very fun. Lots of sibling trauma and abuse, tread lightly friends!!
frmeden's review against another edition
4.0
CW: Child abuse, parental abuse, animal death, animal cruelty.
"The universe was very big. I mean, there were places where the fabric of reality opened onto whole other worlds!"
This novel is part Max prequel and part season two but from Max's point of view. Admittedly, the most interesting parts were Max's backstory and the times in which she's away from the party. During these moments Yovanoff takes the opportunity to explore where Max was and what she was doing when we didn't see her in season two.
What Yovanoff has created is a really wonderful character study for Max. Her relationships and how they've effected her, particularly her family dynamic with her parents and Billy, but the boys too (especially Lucas). Probably the most gut-punching part of this novel was seeing Max's attempts to come to terms with the abuse she suffers at the hands of Billy, someone she goes from hero-worshipping to fearing to hating. The cycle of abuse in her household is really horrifying. It's awful reading about the way Billy's Father treats him, but this book really shows how Max and Billy as step-siblings are on completely different paths and whilst Max is willing to overcome the cycle of abuse and realise her Mom isn't at fault, Billy becomes worse and worse (Plus, he is already a pretty shitty even if he wasn't the byproduct of an abusive household. This book really doubles down on his racism and sexism)
The California periods of this book are really great too, learning more about Max's childhood friends and her relationship with her Dad. Max does that classic child-of-divorce thing where she absolves her Dad of all his sins before slowly coming to terms with his shortcomings, and it's really well done considering he's absent for the entire novel.
The weakest parts of the book are definitely the periods retelling the events of season two. The dialogue is largely glossed over in favour of a sort of 'tell don't show' method, but it did give us some nice insights into Max meeting certain characters for the first time. Her descriptions of Will, Steve and Nancy are particularly cute.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one!
"The universe was very big. I mean, there were places where the fabric of reality opened onto whole other worlds!"
This novel is part Max prequel and part season two but from Max's point of view. Admittedly, the most interesting parts were Max's backstory and the times in which she's away from the party. During these moments Yovanoff takes the opportunity to explore where Max was and what she was doing when we didn't see her in season two.
What Yovanoff has created is a really wonderful character study for Max. Her relationships and how they've effected her, particularly her family dynamic with her parents and Billy, but the boys too (especially Lucas). Probably the most gut-punching part of this novel was seeing Max's attempts to come to terms with the abuse she suffers at the hands of Billy, someone she goes from hero-worshipping to fearing to hating. The cycle of abuse in her household is really horrifying. It's awful reading about the way Billy's Father treats him, but this book really shows how Max and Billy as step-siblings are on completely different paths and whilst Max is willing to overcome the cycle of abuse and realise her Mom isn't at fault, Billy becomes worse and worse (Plus, he is already a pretty shitty even if he wasn't the byproduct of an abusive household. This book really doubles down on his racism and sexism)
The California periods of this book are really great too, learning more about Max's childhood friends and her relationship with her Dad. Max does that classic child-of-divorce thing where she absolves her Dad of all his sins before slowly coming to terms with his shortcomings, and it's really well done considering he's absent for the entire novel.
The weakest parts of the book are definitely the periods retelling the events of season two. The dialogue is largely glossed over in favour of a sort of 'tell don't show' method, but it did give us some nice insights into Max meeting certain characters for the first time. Her descriptions of Will, Steve and Nancy are particularly cute.
Overall, I really enjoyed this one!
milevans's review against another edition
4.0
No le doy las 5 estrellas porque me aburrió la mitad, pero a partir de la página 140 se pone súper interesante. Esto no es más que un retelling de la temporada 2 de stranger things pero desde la perspectiva de Max, y si me gustó bastante poder llegar a conocerla, de entenderla, y es que es mucho más que solo una chica con un skateboard como muches la pintan. Su relación con su madre y su padre es súper delicada, ya ni hablar de Billy (que Max hasta lo compara con un monstruo) que la verdad lo odio mucho más ahora.
En fin, un muy buen libro, a lo largo de las paginas deja una enseñanza bonita. Solo quiero decir: MUJERES<3
ALSO LA ESCENA DEL RENCUENTRO MILEVEN DJAJWJSHE MIS BEBÉS LOS AMO Y AQUÍ SE VE EL AMOR QUE IRRADIAN AMBOS, ALSO THE LUMAX??!! pls don’t break them apart
En fin, un muy buen libro, a lo largo de las paginas deja una enseñanza bonita. Solo quiero decir: MUJERES<3
ALSO LA ESCENA DEL RENCUENTRO MILEVEN DJAJWJSHE MIS BEBÉS LOS AMO Y AQUÍ SE VE EL AMOR QUE IRRADIAN AMBOS, ALSO THE LUMAX??!! pls don’t break them apart
tlnscu's review against another edition
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
wendytheowl's review against another edition
4.0
FR
Il faut savoir que j'avais beaucoup aimé l'introduction de Max dans la série, alors avoir un tome qui retrace son histoire, ça me convenait parfaitement !
Le fait d'avoir enfin son point de vue est clairement une excellente chose, car c'est un des personnages les plus intéressants. Et à elle, s'ajoute Billy, qui est mon personnage chouchou. Le fait qu'on en apprenne plus sur les deux, sur leurs passés m'a beaucoup plu, mais j'aurai aimé encore plus sur Billy. Si il pouvait avoir un livre à lui, ça m'irait totalement haha.
Quelques longueurs parfois, mais pas vraiment dérangeantes, un bon moment de lecture, tout simplement.
ENG
You should know that I really liked the introduction of Max in the series, so having a volume that traces her story, it suited me perfectly !
Having her point of view at last is clearly a great thing, as she's one of the most interesting characters. And to her is added Billy, who is my favorite character. I really liked the fact that we learned more about both, about their past, but I would have liked even more about Billy. If he could have a book of his own, it would totally ok for me haha.
A few lengths sometimes, but not really disturbing, quite a good moment of reading.
Il faut savoir que j'avais beaucoup aimé l'introduction de Max dans la série, alors avoir un tome qui retrace son histoire, ça me convenait parfaitement !
Le fait d'avoir enfin son point de vue est clairement une excellente chose, car c'est un des personnages les plus intéressants. Et à elle, s'ajoute Billy, qui est mon personnage chouchou. Le fait qu'on en apprenne plus sur les deux, sur leurs passés m'a beaucoup plu, mais j'aurai aimé encore plus sur Billy. Si il pouvait avoir un livre à lui, ça m'irait totalement haha.
Quelques longueurs parfois, mais pas vraiment dérangeantes, un bon moment de lecture, tout simplement.
ENG
You should know that I really liked the introduction of Max in the series, so having a volume that traces her story, it suited me perfectly !
Having her point of view at last is clearly a great thing, as she's one of the most interesting characters. And to her is added Billy, who is my favorite character. I really liked the fact that we learned more about both, about their past, but I would have liked even more about Billy. If he could have a book of his own, it would totally ok for me haha.
A few lengths sometimes, but not really disturbing, quite a good moment of reading.
emiilyrose's review against another edition
5.0
If you’re a stranger things fan and you love hearing the character’s backstories, you NEED to pick up this book. I annotated and highlighted it to bits because so much of it touched me so deeply. The author catches Max’s voice so perfectly.