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jo_withabook's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide and Gore
Moderate: Alcoholism and Murder
Minor: Drug use
majakrmer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Gore, Animal death, Homophobia, and Death
nenya's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
However, it is very important here to check the trigger warnings because there is A LOT going on - stuff that is obvious very soon and other things that take a lot of time to become truly clear.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Classism, Drug use, Gaslighting, Grief, Gore, Emotional abuse, Incest, Homophobia, Medical content, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide attempt
slimy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This is probably the most pretentiously academic work of fiction I've ever read but in the best way possible. The author uses that pretention and builds deeper characters with it. Without all the highbrow academia, we wouldn't see these characters in the same light- they would lose a lot of their redeeming qualities. And my god- what a world! Hampden campus, where this book takes place,... I mean I feel as if I myself am an alumni! Theres such care in how the place shapes the characters. Even the minor characters are ALIVE and active in their environment. Truly fantastic.
The pace is slow. Very slow. And usually that kills me, but this main character was so smart and witty, and had such a keen eye for the other characters I didn't mind being in his head for a long period of time.
For trigger warnings, the only thing I didn't expect after reading the book's description was brief mention of rape. There's a scene towards the end where our main character, Richard, confronts a female character (whom he's expressed romantic feelings for) about something she's done in secret that he disagrees with. There's a moment when his frustration builds, and he has the internal thought of: 'I want to shake her, slap some sense into her, throw her down on the bed and rape her' but he does none of these things. It definitely caught me off guard, and (I felt) was out of character, but I see how it was supposed to be used as an internal, intrusive thought in this situation. Other than that, I'd say pretty major triggers for murder, blood, gore, toxic families, drug and alcohol abuse, and minor sexual content.
A basic overview: </spoiler A group of friends decide to kill someone in their friend group, and subsequently spiral into shame, guilt, self-destruction, and madness.
Graphic: Gore, Murder, and Violence
Minor: Rape
esme_may's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Classism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, and Gun violence
Moderate: Gore, Misogyny, Sexism, Vomit, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Addiction, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Ableism, Incest, Mental illness, Antisemitism, Car accident, Bullying, Cursing, Infidelity, and Blood
Minor: Cancer, Kidnapping, Outing, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual assault
rory_john14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gore, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Gun violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Violence, Blood, Death, Drug use, and Homophobia
Moderate: Grief, Toxic relationship, Hate crime, Classism, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Animal cruelty, and Child abuse
Minor: Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Biphobia, Antisemitism, Cancer, Car accident, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Stalking, Vomit, Child death, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, and Infidelity
clarathromycin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Antisemitism, Cursing, Incest, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Vomit, Death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Stalking, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Misogyny, Murder, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Blood, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Body horror, Classism, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Infidelity, and Animal death
bookish_gremlin's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Blood, Gore, and Violence
Minor: Antisemitism, Homophobia, and Incest
martyna_m's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Death, Gore, Incest, Violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Drug use, Murder, Racism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Rape
oliviareads22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
Graphic: Vomit, Violence, Incest, Grief, and Gore