Scan barcode
lenchen25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, and War
dananana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Confinement, Racism, Suicide, Antisemitism, and Classism
Minor: Death of parent
simixfe'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? It's complicated
3.25
I loved the beginning, liked the middle and hated the end.
I mean I should have anticipated that it would not end with
Still, I at least hoped for a conversation about their true feelings. I wanted Gaunt to let his guard down and tell Ellwood that he is scared that Ellwood will grow bored of him eventually and I wanted Elly to be finally able to voice his feelings in his own words and not the words of other poets. In my Imagination, Gaunt would have stopped calling Ellwood Ellwood and finally would have used his christian name and then they would have grown old together (happily). Sadly, none of that happend, except that Gaunt called Ellwood Sidney, bjt only after Ellwood basically pressured him.
It really was not a bad book by any means. I just went into it with the wrong expectations.
To end this on a more positive note: Even though it was all quite sad, there were parts where i laughed out loud. Some scenes were absolutely hilarious and Devi was the sweetest soul. And the book had great writing and beautiful quotes. The quote that touched me most was: "You'll write more poems. They are not lost. You are the poetry."
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
arlingtonchamberofgay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Blood, Medical content, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Homophobia, Mental illness, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism and Antisemitism
bowl's review against another edition
- 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
If you love Song of Achilles and All Quiet on the Western Front, this will be your new favorite book (I’m speaking from experience)!
There are literally no flaws with this book and I would give it a 30/5 if I could, but alas. Read this book, you will not regret it.
Gaunt and Ellwood are straight up by new favorite tragic couple. Like, they are so Achilles and Patroclus coded it’s insane, yet they are more tragic than them. I will be thinking about them for a *long time.*
This is also the first time I’ve cried reading a book in a *long* while. Everything about this book seeps of bittersweetness and melancholy, and for good reason! This book is up there with some of the best depictions of WWI I’ve ever read or seen. I found everything incredibly easy to visualize (it was almost too vivid at times,,).
Beware the content warnings though. As said before, it’s set in WWI and it has several incredibly graphic descriptions of death and trench life. And homophobia, for obvious reasons.
Does this make sense? I don’t think it makes sense but I’m writing this at 3 AM through ugly tears so I’ll give myself a pass.
TLDR: This might be my new favorite book. I am going insane and need to talk about this book with someone. Just- read it!!
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Medical content, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Xenophobia, and Antisemitism
daisywilkes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Vomit, Murder, and War
srm's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Blood, Grief, and War
Moderate: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Misogyny, Suicide, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Classism
katie_11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gore, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia, Antisemitism, and Colonisation