Reviews with content warning for Toxic friendship - The Music of What Happens

Audiobook - 4 hours 36 minutes - This wasn't quite what I was expecting - it was a lot heavier than it seemed in the synopsis, exploring darker themes than a book just about a summer romance would. I liked Max's character - it took me a little longer to like Jordan. There were some elements I didn't like at first but I realised towards the end of the novel that a fair few of these were intentional and specifically commented on as part of the conclusion. There were parts of this book that were extremely hard for me to read - Max's story in particular hit far too close for home and upset me a lot, but that is on me for choosing this audiobook at random without researching the content warnings. But overall, I liked the structure of this book - it diverted from the 'automatically happy ending' that I've come to expect from YA novels, and it was a refreshing change, that made sense within the context of the book.

Content Warnings

jesthemess's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-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? It's complicated

4.25

Content Warnings

bitsandbobsdivination's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I really enjoyed Openly Straight and it’s Sequel but this one just didn’t hit right.

The friend groups I felt really uncomfortable with right from the beginning and they never really redeemed themselves by the end. The “wives” especially as they felt so over the top and stereotyped. I know it was to make a point of GBF’s but one tiny mention at the end that it changed and suddenly all was good now was weird.

That being said, most of the plot if this book felt so strange and out of order at times too. Especially since there were a ton of plots mixing together for a climax that never really got solved… It just kinda did an after school special introspection about the title for a moment and then ended?? Plus the mom clearly needed help the whole time and then just got shoved under the bus? It could have been handled so much better!

That all being said, the way in which rape, dissociation, toxic masculinity, and self-esteem were covered were done much better but still, kinda clunky, like it could have been expanded upon in less choppy ways.

I’m sure I could go on about how Jordan and Max’s relationship was built up without any real chemistry, or how we had random chapters that were full on filler, but I’m gonna end it here by saying it wasn’t all bad, but I don’t plan on reading it again…

Content Warnings

kcbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing sad 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? It's complicated

5.0

I read this at least once a year and still love it!

Content Warnings

miandrade's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

0.5

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