Reviews with content warning for Sexual content - Por Lugares Incríveis

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Por Lugares Incríveis by Jennifer Niven

60 reviews

the_true_monroe's review against another edition

dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

2.5

Starting off with what I disliked.

While I appreciate the author’s note and how personal this book is to the author, and how there was a lot of research into mental health and suicide, I could not see much past how badly certain topics were portrayed. Not in the way of “everyone grieves differently” or “this is real life” because all of that is true- this book did not need a happy ending and it was important to include a lot of the stuff we wish did not happen- but in how some things that were very inappropriate or not recommended were not even touched upon.

For example, when Violet tells her parents about her suicide attempt while also at the same time revealing she still was seeing Finch , all the parents mentioned aside from working to make sure Finch was okay is their disappointment. Yeah that probably was in relation to Violet’s disobedience but she literally mentioned she almost took her life and that is never addressed again by her parents.

One thing I wish there was more of in the book was that suicide support group. Although that was not really a realistic portrayal of a group (at least one that is run well) as they literally had everyone share their diagnoses and method of previous suicide attempt (which today goes against safe suicide messaging) introducing another part of who Amanda was was really nice even if she did horribly out Finch to Violet despite her knowing how much she would hate of anyone knew she herself was there.Although it was all nice when Ryan and Amanda joined Violet and Finch’s other friends for a tribute to Finch, we did not have enough character development of Amanda and especially Ryan to justify them being any different from the other mourners at the school who at best never paid any attention to Finch and at worst tormented him.

Also, Finch was pretty coercive and pushy towards Violet such as when he ripped up her note twice when she did not have a direct “yes” … like cool, you are looking for direct consent but you did not except anything but that.

And now, what I appreciated!

I did like Finch’s counselor - he was genuine and even though he started out kind of “eh” for me, he was actually direct with Finch and tried so much to help him beyond actually making him get additional help, which he acknowledges he could have done more anyway. And also, people need to want to get help and Finch did, multiple times. But even the people who fight most against suicide- for themselves and others- end up dying by suicide. And even though people say this book romanticized suicide (which I can see, especially with Violet going on the journey to visit the remaining wandering spots), I think having seen Finch in so many different states of mind- the backs and forths of what his illness does to him, and how he KNEW he wanted to live at so many points, and appreciated life and being awake- he still ended up taking his life. And that happens… a lot. Some of the best advocates for suicide prevention die by suicide even with years of saying “there is always help” and “I am here for you”. I am a suicide prevention advocate myself but also know that a lot of messaging around suicide prevention can make it seem like loved ones did something wrong or did not try hard enough. This books gets that right- how that is in no way true and suicide prevention is not about you as one person preventing a suicide but it is a collective effort across the lifespan for people to recognize the signs, and have the resources to help both themselves and others.

Closing thoughts:
While I clearly disliked this book overall, I am so glad I read it. As a suicide prevention advocate it is interesting to me to read and watch different portrayals of mental health and suicide over time. Even since this was written in 2015, so much has changed to where I know the movie addressed some things that this book did not (although I need to watch it still). I feel like if I read it around when it came out, I would have loved this as I did Thirteen Reasons Why.

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alexia_fs's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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na3ne3's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful lighthearted sad slow-paced

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? Yes

4.5

No need to tell that I sobbed. That was a given. This book broke me yet healed me at the same time. Even before reading it, I knew how it was gonna end, which might explain why I cried so hard since the start. I knew the ending, yet I still had hope, I didn't want to believe it because it was so heartwarming : the way he loved her with all his heart and it helped him to feel better for a while, and how he always gave her lessons about life. I felt so emotionally attached to finch that I couldn't accept the end. I especially loved the writing. The way, at times, I'd end up feeling exactly as finch does, until it turns nearly suffocating. It's amazing how the writer portrayed his emotional problems so well. It's the problem in most of the books that treat suicide or bipolar disorder. They don't express it well, making it hard to read. It wasn't the case here so I really liked it. Only didn't give 5 stars because my eyes hurt from crying.

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dragonmom's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced

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

2.5

The author’s note at the end is the best thing about this book. I think she did a pretty good job of writing bipolar disorder but something about the end of the book just doesn't sit well with me. I liked the dual perspectives and the way the chapters were short. The way the characters kept track of time changed was a cute detail. Overall, I didn't really like it much and I can't quite put my finger on why. I think 16 year old me would have liked it a lot better than I do at 24.

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ems_rxlibrary's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

2.5

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potassiumk's review against another edition

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challenging emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

This book was hard to read. I related to Violet and Finch due to their mental health struggles. I was known as the girl who tried to hang herself last year. So, seeing Finch being referred to in similar ways really hit close to home for me. Finch was one of the most real characters I've ever read. The way he acted was a great example of someone that is passively suicidal and broke the typical norm for books that have to deal with the subject. Most of the time a character who is suicidal or recovering from that is treated like the typical always-depressed person. But not for Finch. He displays a more realistic and different take on the trope. I really liked that.

This book was powerful. It was sad but hopeful. And even if I didn't like how it ended, it was still good.

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mnatale100's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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startjpw23's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

This book is about two high school seniors who are both struggling with serious issues. They meet up in a very tense situation. They develop a friendship and then more. They help each other learn important things about themselves. The latter part of this book figuratively punched me in the gut. It tore out my heart and stomped on it. I can't remember a book affecting me as much emotionally as this book did. This book talks about some very important issues. I would give this book more than 5 stars if I could.

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vickeyreads's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

While it didn’t quite reach 4* for me, overall it was a good book, I really enjoyed the character writing for both Finch and Violet as it feels natural and that these are real humans. Tbh, didn’t find either one to be particularly likeable (especially Finch) but I really liked how you can genuinely understand where they are coming from in a lot of aspects.

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reese_wingo_09's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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