Reviews tagging 'Death'

The Many Half-Lived Lives of Sam Sylvester by Maya MacGregor

34 reviews

quietgrasshopper's review against another edition

mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? N/A
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Hate crime, Violence, and Self harm

merle_bookdragon's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-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? It's complicated

5.0

I don't even exactly know where to start or end but this book was wonderful.

I'm usually not big on murder mystery but I guess if you package it in a YA queer contemporary with a wonderful protagonist it works. I really enjoyed Sam's POV, learning more about how they see the world and of course the wonderful realizations they had when they were finally surrounded by good friends. And my god are good friends groups one of my favorite things in literature. Sam, Shep, Sky, Aidan, and Ronnie and Jax, too, are such a wonderful group and I just wish everyone could be surrounded by such a safe group of people.

I think while this might sound cheesy one of my other favorite things was the wonderful representation we had in this book. Sam is autistic and nonbinary and uses they/them pronouns, and they also identify themselves as panromantic and being on the ace spectrum. We also see Latina, Black, Vietnamese, bi, and aroace rep (and more I'm sure) in Sam's friend group and in the LGBTQIA+ club at school. 

The murder mystery part starts slowly and then grows more apparent towards the second half of the book when it becomes obvious that Sam and Shep have stirred a pot that somebody clearly doesn't want to have stirred. I really liked the dynamic development and without any spoilers - I didn't guess who the murder was.

And just for a little bit of emotional pain, because Sam was really good at inflicting that on me:

"I'm not afraid of the dead, Dad. They're dead. [...] The living are scarier."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, Homophobia, and Violence

Moderate: Biphobia, Death, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Stalking

Minor: Self harm, Alcoholism, Cancer, Domestic abuse, Vomit, and Outing

lamanda_quiring's review

mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.75

If I enjoyed mysteries & thrillers more I’d probably give this a higher rating. I thought the synopsis sounded cool but it turned into more of a mystery. But the representation in this book was great, I loved the MC, and the writing was really good. Also, if you like audiobooks, the narrator for this was also very good!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Death

penguinsquack's review against another edition

emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia and Bullying

Moderate: Ableism, Biphobia, Death, Child death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, and Outing

Minor: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Self harm

Allergic reaction and anaphylaxis

littleblackduckbooks's review

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Death, and Murder

evelynyle_88's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• 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

The story is really creepy somehow, but heartwarming in some way. I love how Sam Sylvester enganged himself with his autistic (neurodivergent) condition in his life. 
I love every minute reading this!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Bullying, and Homophobia

Moderate: Murder, Biphobia, and Death

Minor: Self harm, Domestic abuse, and Cancer

aexileigh's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Outing, Child death, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, Biphobia, Bullying, Death, and Transphobia

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Blood, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Domestic abuse

betweentheshelves's review

emotional mysterious medium-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

4.0

Not only is there great representation in this (the main character is nonbinary, autistic, and on the ace spectrum!) but I thoroughly enjoyed the mystery in here. There's a few hints of something almost supernatural at work (kind of like a ghost), and the characters were great. I especially loved Sam's relationship with their dad. Seeing such a supportive dad in a YA book like this is something I love to see. And a single dad at that!

I will say I didn't necessarily think the romance was necessary for the plot, and it fell a little flat for me. It almost felt like it happened too quickly, and I think I would have rathered that maybe it was just a hint at the end of the story.

However, the mystery worked so well, with strong twists and turns unfolding at every turn. If you like your mysteries with a contemporary spin, I'd definitely recommend this one!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Transphobia

Moderate: Death, Murder, and Biphobia

Minor: Self harm, Cancer, and Domestic abuse

anniereads221's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

This book made me emotional in a way i did not quite expect from a paranormal mystery. Sam is non-binary like me. Autistic like me. And asexual like me. And i can't believe there is a character that is like me in those ways all at the same time. They are probably one of my favourite characters. I really enjoyed this book so much. I have not read an autistic character that i have related so much to before with certain things. This book really pulled off the mystery aspect for me. This is a favourite for sure

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Transphobia, Violence, Alcohol, Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Ableism, Murder, and Biphobia

Minor: Death of parent and Cancer

Anaphylaxis shock

evilyn's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Hate crime, Murder, Child abuse, and Death