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meggs16's review
dark
mysterious
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
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing and Car accident
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, and Kidnapping
nickgalentine's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I found Never Have I Ever at Goodwill, and the blurb on the back intrigued me, so off it went to join the rest of the books on my egregious TBR pile. I kept thinking about the synopsis, though, so when our family was packing for vacation, I slipped the book in my carry-on. It took me a few days to work through it, and while it was definitely twisty and turny, it was also all over the place. The author's use of misdirection was annoying. And the fact that it was child rape in the end was just mind-blowing... but not in a good way. The way Jackson handled writing it felt very out of touch.
I don't recommend Never Have I Ever. It's already on the shelf at Goodwill again, awaiting another all-day sucker like me to get entranced by the blurb (which honestly may have been my favorite thing about the book).
I don't recommend Never Have I Ever. It's already on the shelf at Goodwill again, awaiting another all-day sucker like me to get entranced by the blurb (which honestly may have been my favorite thing about the book).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder
Moderate: Rape and Kidnapping
bookworm247's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape, Pregnancy, Kidnapping, Infidelity, and Gun violence
kimmiereadsalot's review
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
3.0
I hated Amy. Then I kind of got her. Then I was like meh. Idk. I think the reason this story didn’t work for me is because I felt like the author wanted us to root for Amy, but I could never quite get there. Also. I hated all the body hate and disordered eating talk. I get it was part of her history, but I didn’t like the way it was included.
Tw: Disordered eating, ED, body shaming, child rape (not detailed), murder.
Tw: Disordered eating, ED, body shaming, child rape (not detailed), murder.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape
dilani's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Amy showed more patience with Roux than I could have 😒 Plot twists were revealed throughout the book instead of one giant reveal at the end. I liked this deviation and was surprised at some of the twists myself. It was slow to start and only picked up a past the halfway point in the book. Still a solid read overall!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Eating disorder, and Car accident
Moderate: Body shaming and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Gun violence, and Rape
jenren1010's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Rape
deethebiblio's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I ended up liking this book more than I originally thought I would.
I'm not a huge fan of blackmail stories, and wanted this to be more about the game than that; however, the layers that the author added from about halfway to the end made it a 3 star instead of a 1/1.5.
I didn't like any of the characters, even the one you were supposed to like the most. I'd say the one I disliked least was Maddie, but even then, her "loving nicknames" for her parents annoyed me.
I'm not a huge fan of blackmail stories, and wanted this to be more about the game than that; however, the layers that the author added from about halfway to the end made it a 3 star instead of a 1/1.5.
I didn't like any of the characters, even the one you were supposed to like the most. I'd say the one I disliked least was Maddie, but even then, her "loving nicknames" for her parents annoyed me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Rape
hannahet's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pedophilia, Rape, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Infidelity, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
kait_sixcrowsbooks's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
I just finished this within the last fifteen minutes, and...it’s a book? Overall, it was okay, but the more I think about it, the more I’m coming to the conclusion that it’s just too...disjointed, I suppose. The story didn’t feel smooth, but instead felt like many smaller stories that didn’t fit quite right in the grand scheme of things.
For example, there is a significant subplot about the main character’s (Amy) weight/body image/eating disorder (huge trigger warning for that, by the way, I was not prepared for it) that...never really gets resolved? A bit connected is the subplot with the main character’s friend from her childhood that, again, didn’t really resolve itself. It basically ceased to exist once Amy got what she needed from them.
And that ~twist ending~ about 5-10% before the end of the book had me reeling, and not in the good twisty kind of way. To me, it was there purely for shock value, and like the other components of this book, it didn’t fit well with the overall plot.
Going back to Amy for a moment, I do want to emphasize that if you’re sensitive towards anything to do with body image and eating disorders, I’d definitely be aware that the book is told from the first-person perspective of someone who deals with both, both in the present story and in their childhood. Like I said, I definitely wasn’t prepared for it, and even as someone who never personally dealt with an eating disorder, it made me feel uncomfortable at times.
I will say that while I didn’t like most of what this book tried to do, I was pretty interested in the scuba diving aspect — as someone who never did it, it was definitely different, and I enjoyed everything about it! Everything else? Meh, not so much.
For example, there is a significant subplot about the main character’s (Amy) weight/body image/eating disorder (huge trigger warning for that, by the way, I was not prepared for it) that...never really gets resolved? A bit connected is the subplot with the main character’s friend from her childhood that, again, didn’t really resolve itself. It basically ceased to exist once Amy got what she needed from them.
And that ~twist ending~ about 5-10% before the end of the book had me reeling, and not in the good twisty kind of way. To me, it was there purely for shock value, and like the other components of this book, it didn’t fit well with the overall plot.
Going back to Amy for a moment, I do want to emphasize that if you’re sensitive towards anything to do with body image and eating disorders, I’d definitely be aware that the book is told from the first-person perspective of someone who deals with both, both in the present story and in their childhood. Like I said, I definitely wasn’t prepared for it, and even as someone who never personally dealt with an eating disorder, it made me feel uncomfortable at times.
I will say that while I didn’t like most of what this book tried to do, I was pretty interested in the scuba diving aspect — as someone who never did it, it was definitely different, and I enjoyed everything about it! Everything else? Meh, not so much.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Homophobia and Infidelity
fayelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
2nd half better than the first half. I had a little bit of a hard time sticking with it during the beginning, but the twists and unexpected info was really good.
Content Warnings
Minor: Rape and Child abuse
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