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whatapril's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
washysoup's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying
810ml'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: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Blood
Moderate: Eating disorder
asurasantosha'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Gaslighting
Minor: Medical content and Abandonment
b33'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? It's complicated
4.0
The depiction of bullying was realistic and made me sympathize with the characters. Along with that, the way they acted seemed reminiscent of actual middle-schoolers, which was often melodramatic.
That being said, some parts of the novel just felt a little off to me. Sometimes the pacing would be a little weird, too fast in some scenes and too slow in others. Occasionally, it would jump between scenes in a way that felt unnatural.
All things considered, it was an interesting read. I would read it again.
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
bookishpip's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Gore, Suicidal thoughts, and Injury/Injury detail
marinarose3's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Bullying
hannah_go03's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Self harm, and Suicide attempt
klc56's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
sweetsxrrxw'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
anyway, have i enjoyed reading this? pretty much! would i reccomend the book? hmmm, it depends; not to everyone, that's for sure. and, of course, check the trigger warnings, because most of them are pretty graphic.
i believe on the main points of the story was to show us a somewhat flat character surrounded by differing opinions on what to do or how to cope with his situation and which one was better to settle for. personally, i like reading stories about characters facing hardships and their choping mechanisms to deal with them and i don't dislike stories that talk about bullying. and i really enjoyed the premise of two hurt people bonding over fear. their friendship was beautiful and, even though it didn't suffer huge changes, it was nice to see how it evolved with time and how they found a safe space in each other's company.
but definitely my favorite part was the second half of the book.
oh and i think one of my favorite relationships in the book was the one the narrator had with his stepmom. at first she seemed like a distant person but by the end of the book both mother and son could find some kind of comfort in each other. and trust me, i was so so happy when he finally told her about the bullying and she made him change schools and later also supported him in the surgery process.
as for the last scene, it was a perfect bittersweet ending to the story.
i feel like this could have been a 4 star read if it wasn't for a couple reasons:
- the two scenes where we get a fairly detailed description of the narrator, a 14 year old, masturbating.
like yeah i understand how he does it only to calm down when he is feeling super tense and distressed but they could have totally been black out scenes. - i know i said the philosophy of some characters was interesting (and so is the polarity between them) but.. they're 14. i think at that age one might be able to think of some of those points, but it would have felt more truthful if they were, at least, two years older.
but yeah, overall, i think it's a worthy read!
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicide, and Sexual harassment