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biab00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
To borrow Granny’s description, a bookstore is a place densely populated with tens of thousands of authors, dead or living, residing side by side. But books are quiet. They remain dead silent until somebody flips open a page. Only then do they spill out their stories, calmly and thoroughly, just enough at a time for me to handle.
Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Grief, Physical abuse, Bullying, Death of parent, Alcohol, Death, and Chronic illness
jhabelita'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
4.75
“Parents start out with grand expectations for their kids. But when things don’t go as expected, they just want their kids to be ordinary, thinking it’s simple. But son, being ordinary is the hardest thing to achieve,”
It was a heartwarming story after reading Britney's memoir. Pero may sapak pa rin sa heart. 🥺
Graphic: Mental illness
rachjy's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Animal death, Ableism, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Animal cruelty, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Abandonment, Cursing, and Torture
gossameralbum's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
here is another part i highlighted that i found profound:
“Mom, do you even know what that character means?” “Of course!” Granny glared at Mom, then in a deep low voice, she said, “Love.” “What does love mean?” Mom asked mischievously. “To discover beauty.” After Granny wrote the top part of the character , then the middle part, (meaning “heart”), she said, “These three dots are us. This one’s mine, this one’s yours, this one’s his!”
Graphic: Death, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Ableism, Blood, Bullying, Medical content, and Violence
Minor: Rape
errie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Mental illness, Animal cruelty, and Bullying
siriface's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, and Death
user_as'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
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Medical content, Death of parent, and Kidnapping
ldpaige'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
4.75
What are you going to do here? Do you think enduring all this will make you strong? This isn’t strong. It’s just pretending to be.
i absolutely enjoyed this book. it started out rocky for me, and i was even contemplating DNF-ing this book due to some plot continuity issues early on. if i could give a word of advice to someone interested in this book (namely people like me who read reviews to see if it’s up their alley and worth the read), hang on. it WILL get better.
i LOVED the characters, even though some were more fleshed out than others. the story, as well as the world around it, is so interesting and beckons you to lean in and feel what others can’t. it explores emotions and the boundaries of it, imposed by ourselves and what we are simply exposed to.
i recommend this book to anyone who enjoys a bittersweet coming-of-age story or anyone who just wants a fresh perspective. it felt a bit preachy in the beginning, maybe even pretentious. however, understanding the character put everything into perspective and helped me to best grasp what the author was trying to say in the first place. you realize, towards the end, the author and MC may be more similar than different.
this is a book that earned all of its 4.75 stars.
Graphic: Violence, Murder, and Blood
Moderate: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Domestic abuse
molly_rose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Grief, Violence, Mental illness, Murder, Torture, and Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment and Toxic friendship
ankita1996's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Animal cruelty, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Cursing, and Death