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mmccombs's review
dark
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
3.0
That was… fine. The plot was pretty boring and felt low stakes, so even when the more interesting sci fi elements were happening my overall impression was one of flatness. The writing was fine, I didn’t really care for the style but it wasn’t bad either. I enjoyed what it had to say about grief and being stuck in the past, but I just didn’t care about the tv show side plot and felt largely confused about the “commuting” aspect. I’m thinking if this was just a bit longer, or if more time was spent digging into one thing instead of every element this book introduces, this would have been a stronger book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content
mirandyli's review
dark
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
This was a great, trippy, dystopian read with a bisexual Korean male lead. Confusing at times but quick to get through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
melodyseestrees's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
If you know the movie Groundhog Day (1993) you will be familiar with the order of some events within this book. It is particularly easy to lose your place during the audiobook and then be confused until the events start to wrap up. There are some really poignant moments between characters, especially towards the end of the book. It may be easy to predict how certain characters are connected together throughout the events of the story, and the 'villain' is also very apparent well before the big reveal.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racism, Medical content, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Drug use, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Bo has a scene where there is a stick stuck in his hand and his wrist is also broken. Brandon and his boss have a toxic faux friendship where drug use is common. Blue and his family have a history of verbal aggression, if not abuse, and he struggles to maintain/fix his connection to his family- there is a tense Christmas Dinner scene. Blue is nonverbal but this is "fixed" with some sort of implant in his neck.queergoth_reads's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Absolutely not what I expected but I think I had a good time. I think I wanted a big more of the sci-fi element but I thought it was well crafted (even if it did lag at points). Thought it was great as an audiobook.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dementia, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content and Car accident
pond_newt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
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? Yes
4.75
I really loved this book. It took me a while to get into it and I was quite confused for the first quarter of the book but it brought it all together very well by the end. There were some really emotional scenes throughout the book, especially from the POV of Bo, which hit very hard. Although it's sold to be about time travel the main focuses are grief and family, with the sci fi elements largely taking a back seat. Massively recommend, particularly if you enjoyed the show Severance as they share similar tones and themes.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Dementia, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Racism, Violence, and Pregnancy
wenwanzhao's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I honestly feel so mindfucked right now. Time travel has never really been my thing because it’s so easy for my brain to lose it. I’ve never been great at conceptualizing high-level mathematics of physics, and when someone tries to be confusing about time travel, they usually pull from those subjects.
My feelings about this book wavered as I kept reading it. Sometimes it dragged and felt stupid, but other times it was riveting. I liked how many tidbits tied into each other. I liked the subtle and informative world building. I even enjoyed how much of an asshole the protagonist was.
The writing was really fascinating. I love second person, and the use of that perspective was really good in this novel. There were many plot choices that felt kind of janky, but I like experimentation. Not everything landed, but I’ve never read a book like this before. It was new and exciting. I had fun.
I think what really pushed this book from a 3.75 to a 4 for me was that it was ultimately about a boy who wanted to save his mother. The through line of this book was people trying to fix things, to save people who were gone. I just found it sweet.
My feelings about this book wavered as I kept reading it. Sometimes it dragged and felt stupid, but other times it was riveting. I liked how many tidbits tied into each other. I liked the subtle and informative world building. I even enjoyed how much of an asshole the protagonist was.
The writing was really fascinating. I love second person, and the use of that perspective was really good in this novel. There were many plot choices that felt kind of janky, but I like experimentation. Not everything landed, but I’ve never read a book like this before. It was new and exciting. I had fun.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction
kurumipanda's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
A unique and disorienting story, with three narratives that switch without warning, with nested stories within them. Despite the odd events and storytelling method, it feels grounded and the themes feel clear and consistent. Focuses on Asian American identity, family grief/relationships, capitalism/corporate corruption, and separating art from the artist. Criticisms of society and culture are spot on and quite funny, and the story is moving and fascinating to unravel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Medical content, Dementia, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Sexual content, and Gaslighting
booksthatburn's review against another edition
I like the way the narrative is layered, and the commentary on the role of media in the formation of identity, especially when that media was not ideal representation, all of that was very interesting, and is part of why I kept reading for as long as I did. but either most of what’s in the description for the book doesn’t come in to play until the second half, or I’m missing something huge in the story. I’m not sure which, and I’m ultimately ended up not finishing it. I think this is the first DNF that I might want to revisit later when I’m in a better headspace, that time just isn’t right now.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Death, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, and Death of parent