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jillgoober's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Grief, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Car accident, Cancer, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Child death, Chronic illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Ableism
lupitaestela's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Medical content, Vomit, Blood, Grief, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death, and Drug use
add_a_little_spook'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: Child death, Cancer, Blood, Vomit, and Medical content
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
juleskr02's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
i really enjoyed campbell and julia in the novel. that’s something that doesn’t get touched upon in the movie, and i think it’s adds a bit of romance to a story that overall lacks that quality. and they also make the courtroom scene that much better, specifically campbell!
Graphic: Cancer
Moderate: Terminal illness and Vomit
Minor: Child death
seawarrior's review against another edition
2.0
I also felt that Picoult shied away from fully exploring the situation Anna was in. By making her subservient to her parents and a willing participant in the surgeries she was born to endure, Picoult never has to stare down the true horror of Anna's life.
Unfortunately I did not feel that the additional protagonists were written well either. It felt to me that Picoult stretched herself too thin, and managed to create characters who represented problems that needed to be solved within her narrative, but not much more. Though each character had different perspectives, most noticeably defined by their fields of study or past life experiences, their voices were not dissimilar and I didn't think they possessed the true complexity of human beings. I will say that Picoult's story was engaging, and seemed to have been researched well; yet I am not an expert in medicine, law, astronomy, fire science or any other topics Picoult needed factual support to make a part of her story. I would recommend this book to others who are interested in children's rights in the medical field, although do not expect the book to be too revolutionary, as I did. Instead it provides a starter for questioning the way we undermine children's consent in medicine, and ends with vague assertions that are ultimately meaningless for Anna.
Graphic: Cancer, Car accident, Grief, Medical trauma, Blood, Suicide attempt, Child death, Medical content, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Pregnancy and Excrement
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Drug use
ansfaiv's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Chronic illness, Cancer, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Blood, Drug use, Drug abuse, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Excrement, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting
shushkeepitdown's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death, Drug use, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Abandonment and Sexual content
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
morgan_byrd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
This book is very eh, it has a lot of good starting points but it doesn't really do anything good with them.
There is serious comentary to be made about how children don't have full bodily autonomy and how that can be abused, about how a minor with severe and possibly fatal illness might want to choose palliative care instead of continuing to fight, how necessary it might be to prioritize the needs of one of your children over another when that child is in crisis and the strain it can put on a family. At first it seems like the book might go in that direction and maybe my expectations were to high but all the pieces are right there and there's no way this is or should be a coffee table novel.
I don't think the book properly explore or elaborates on any of these issues.
The main plot is intriguing at times, the 2 subplots not so much.
One is a romance subplot with so much backstory and honestly why is there a romance subplot. It adds nothing to the story.
Subplot two is about the neglected older brother who kind of faded to the background with everything going on throughout the families lives and it much more relavant but still weak.
spoiler commentary about the ending for all who care It
Graphic: Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Child death, and Cancer
Moderate: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Vomit
lulunyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Child death, Grief, Medical content, Car accident, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Suicide attempt
theseasoul'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
2.5
Graphic: Sexual content and Medical content
Moderate: Cursing and Vomit