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c_alexander'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
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Bullying, Sexual assault, Rape, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Abandonment, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Child death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Racism, and Self harm
hannevdss's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, and Death of parent
samlo28's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Sexism, Death, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Ableism, Self harm, Rape, Eating disorder, Addiction, Child death, Child abuse, and Gun violence
andrewhatesham'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Moderate: Cursing, Child death, and Sexism
Minor: Alcoholism, Blood, Racism, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Classism, Vomit, Gun violence, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Pregnancy
lenor1058'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
4.0
Graphic: Classism, Violence, Physical abuse, Murder, Sexual assault, Self harm, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Rape, Domestic abuse, and Drug use
coybean'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? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Death, Misogyny, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Hate crime, Bullying, Grief, Homophobia, Child death, Cursing, Rape, Classism, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Violence, and Xenophobia
Minor: Stalking, Murder, Self harm, Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Eating disorder, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
superciliary'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: Rape, Violence, and Misogyny
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, and Eating disorder
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Physical abuse
const_elle_ations'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
i have so much to say about this book!! it did what it set out to do so well - i'm just not sure if what it set out to do was 100% my thing. the focus on community and the intersection of lives was fantastic and reminded me of this is us in the way it was constantly switching between both characters, slowly adding more and more, and times. the way the interpersonal relationships were portrayed felt very complex and cool - there's a review on the back of the book that says that "in this small town, backman shows the world", and i think that's pretty true. it can be applied to a lot of tightly-knit communities (i saw my robotics team in some parts of this book). i like how there's no clear main character - though if i had to pick, i'd say it's peter and kira.
i think what fell flat for me was the characters - while the relationships between them were fleshed out beautifully, the characters themselves felt semi-cliched and vague (at least some of them. i'd say a couple felt like they could be real people - peter, kira, ana, and david at times). i wanted less of an overarching, faraway look at what was happening and more of the zoomed-in, real-time emotional reactions of the characters to the rape accusations - especially the reactions of maya, kevin, and benji. i do think there was more of a focus on the adults, which makes sense because it's an adult book, but that made a lot of it feel detached to me. i think if some of the characters felt more personable, it'd be SO much more agonizing to read about their actions - especially the more "gray" characters.
i like the truth-telling writing style - it reminded me of my favorite parts of the raven boys. it felt a little heavy-handed and pretentious sometimes, but i like that sort of thing. i haven't read the reviews yet, but i suspect that's probably most people's gripe with this book if they have any. that, and the pacing, which was admittedly pretty slow for like...the whole book (i was expecting the party to happen a lot earlier in the book, not halfway, and...thought there's be more action/plot?)
that being said, i really loved how much the book tackled and how well it did it. the way it talked about rape culture felt so real and ugly and i wanted to reach into the book and punch pretty much everyone but ana, benji, ramona, and the anderssons. i loved the climax -
i could talk about the symbolism in that scene for days.
i'll definitely finish the series if only to find out which of the boys dies, becomes a father, and plays professional. that was so out of pocket. selfishly, i'm hoping the next two books have more of a focus on the teenagers.
Graphic: Sexism, Homophobia, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Classism, Addiction, Child death, and Gun violence
Minor: Self harm
julessssss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I cannot say that it is badly written, which is part of why I gave it two stars as opposed to one, but I also have no idea what the point of this book was. Backman's ability to bounce between characters while also making them real in some ways should be recognized at the very least.
With that said though, I could not care about most of the characters, and even though they felt like they could be real people, everything they gave to me felt like it was being filtered through Backman as the author, to the point of it feeling ingenuine. I also really hated the Facebook-status-like altruisms that seemed to follow every emotional or important scene. Honestly, in some ways, it felt like I was being talked down to, as if I couldn't just take what was being given to me and understand it.
Overall though, it seemed like a lot of nothing and too much of a rape story I have heard too often, and one that seemed to have no discourse in the text about it other than the same feminist notions I hear all the time. The book is fine, read it if you'd like, but I would not recommend it.
If you are going to make me read a detailed rape scene, make it worth it.
Graphic: Rape and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Bullying, and Child death
Minor: Grief, Self harm, and Addiction
xiggy'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
5.0
Graphic: Hate crime, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Domestic abuse, Racism, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Cursing, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Suicidal thoughts