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drraytay'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
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Eating disorder, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
katiewhocanread'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
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Biphobia and Suicide
readwithchar'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Biphobia, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, and Suicide
bookswithbront'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
4.0
Maddie is an incredibly well-written, real-feeling character: at times to the point of being infuriating to read. Her naïveté is understandable — she's grown up incredibly sheltered and is just learning to make her own decisions for the first time at 25 — but can be frustrating as a reader, when you can see situations more clearly than she can and have to wait for her to realize she's being mistreated or taken advantage of. Because the book is written solely from Maddie's perspective, however, it did leave many of the other characters feeling one-dimensional. And when Maddie finally realizes at the end of the book that "my actions can affect other people," it feels like too little, too late.
When thinking about what I liked most about this book, I feel drawn to its two emotional extremes. On one hand, I appreciated the raw, realistic depiction of what grief can do to a person, especially when that grief is complicated with feelings of regret. On the other, I most enjoyed the lighthearted scenes when Maddie was experiencing things like flirting, dancing in a club, or getting high for the first time. The "in betweens" of these two ends of the spectrum — tended to drag on for me, but they also made the story feel incredibly true to life, so I understand their purpose.
All in all, this is a stunning debut from Jessica George. Even more than the story itself, I appreciated her voice, her humor, and her writing style, and I'll gladly read whatever she publishes next.
Thanks to NetGalley for providing me with an ARC!
Graphic: Chronic illness, Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia and Suicide
yadira315'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
5.0
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness and Sexual content
Minor: Biphobia
mothebad's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The MC’s voice was annoying and a pain to be in at the beginning because despite being 25 she read as very juvenile. I understand she’s a late bloomer but somethings were too much for me.
The best part of this book were the conversations and moments around grief, it is clear that’s where George’s writing shines.
Everything else though was not very good. In an attempt to portray Maddie (MC) as naive and a late bloomer there were extremely biphobic things said/thought by our character. There was also a fatphobic comment. I wish Maddie was constructed with as much care as the grief storyline was, it would’ve made me care about her more.
Thank you St Martins Press for the ARC
Graphic: Biphobia
Minor: Fatphobia
cee_ceon'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
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Racism, and Lesbophobia
jenmcreads'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
4.5
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Colonisation
Minor: Biphobia and Sexual content
internationalreads'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: Biphobia, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
anastasia_raf'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: Biphobia, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexual content, Grief, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Racism, Religious bigotry, and Abandonment