Reviews tagging 'Abandonment'

I Wish You All the Best by Mason Deaver

149 reviews

red_reader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful 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? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Abandonment, Deadnaming, and Transphobia

jooniethemoonie's review against another edition

funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

3.75

this book was barely reaching 4 stars but I couldn't decide! it's a story about coming to terms with your situation and yourself, even when you have a million different things happening at the same time.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gaslighting, Dysphoria, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Alcohol

the MC suffers from anxiety and is depicted having panic attacks.

there's a scene where the MC is at a party and gets peer pressured into taking shots. he also goes to therapy to talk about his parents kicking him out of the house.

nightshaderoots's review

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.25

I wish there was more development with the side characters but that's to be expected when the main character is a heavy focus in the book. That being said I really wished I had this book when I was younger. I'm so glad that it is here for people to read and fall in love with.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Transphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Alcohol

Throughout the book they talk about how Ben has little or no appetite. I wish there was more focus on that instead of it being brushed aside.

sp00ky_girl28's review

emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Mental illness, Transphobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment

annabellereadsbooks's review

emotional slow-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Transphobia and Abandonment

phil_02's review

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Minor: Child abuse, Abandonment, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders

xarson's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted reflective 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, Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Dysphoria, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Violence, Homophobia, and Bullying

Moderate: Alcohol

Minor: Pregnancy and Islamophobia

malloray's review against another edition

emotional hopeful

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

3.5

This book was mid for me. I’ve liked Deaver’s other work more. BUT the nonbinary representation is fantastic. I really enjoyed Ben’s family and how that was handled. Ben feels like a very real person. However I wasn’t very invested in Nathan or the other side characters. They felt less like people to me. This book is by no means bad, though. Give it a try!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Transphobia, Abandonment, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Physical abuse

elijah__'s review

emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

I think this is generally a good book I'm just not in the target audience for; I picked it up for an LGBT book club, but it felt oriented to a much younger audience. That being said, I think Mariam and Ben's relationship feels deeply inappropriate; Mariam is an adult, college graduate YouTuber who refers to a high school student as their "bestie" and ultimately

has them move to their area, or possibly even home, (it's unclear) to recruit them to their business the moment Ben graduates.

While the character of Mariam means no harm, the relationship mirrors YouTuber scandals in an unsettling way, and I feel it glorifies an inappropriate relationship to the teens this book seems to be aimed towards. While being friends with someone outside your age group is not inherently bad, a full adult with celebrity status calling a high-school-aged fan their "bestie" doesn't sit quite right with me. Making Mariam closer to Ben's age would make things feel a lot less questionable, and wouldn't be unrealistic, as plenty of teens have "made it" on social media.

That being said, the family drama feels realistic and well-written, as does the portrayal of mental illness. The romance is alright, if not particularly unique or interesting, and I enjoy the character of Nathan. The family plot really takes center stage for me, and I feel Hannah in particular is a very interesting and well-written character. While I like the characters, I do feel Nathan and Hannah are a bit lacking in flaws - - that being said, Hannah does exhibit some, and is (in my opinion) the most interesting character in the book; a guilt-ridden elder sister, now stepping into a parental role for her younger sibling, who would do anything to make up for lost time.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, and Mental illness

Moderate: Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Transphobia

Minor: Homophobia and Physical abuse

zeetheb00kie's review

emotional sad 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, and Abandonment