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nyoom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Slavery, Medical trauma, and Pregnancy
mirandavictoria's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Vomit
Minor: Suicide attempt
booksthatburn'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
5.0
The pacing is amazing, starting out with hints, whispers, and strange inconsistencies before building into series of much-needed confrontations and gripping turns. The eventual reveal of Aces' identity is narratively satisfying, immediately begging for a re-read once the solution is known. This is a thriller which can absolutely survive that re-read, but this review won't spoil the ending. The alternating perspectives kept things moving, and contributed to the sense of missing information as often events would happen where the other main character would get information and the current point of view character would just get rumors or partial glimpses.
I love Chi and Devon as protagonists, especially the way they interact with (or, early on, avoid) each other. They're very different people who end up having to work together to figure out what's been happening to both of them. They have a lot of time on their own, trying to deal with everything.
The secondary characters are complex without taking over the narrative. Their parents and other figures from home have enough attention to feel like real parts of their worlds while not not being the focus.
This is a thriller with much needed aftercare in the form of updates after the main events. It's just enough to give closure and a sense of where they end up, and it works really well. This is a hell of a debut, I wish there were something else I could read right away because this is just fantastic.
The way different slices of their lives and identities were used to torment them and which parts Aces carefully danced around was very well handled.
There's a series of final confrontations which I loved but can't say much about without major spoilers. Some of them ramped up the existing tension and some were more emotionally complex where catharsis was sought and not received, or where a confrontation was expected and then didn't go the way they thought.
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, and Outing
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicide attempt and Murder
readalongwithnat's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racism and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Sexual content, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Vomit, Police brutality, and Suicide attempt
sarah984's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Confinement, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Slavery, Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol