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shinyfox'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: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Sexual assault, Car accident, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Sexual content, and Alcohol
tanya240's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Stalking, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
kellyofcali's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Stalking, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Blood, Medical content, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Grief
xgabrielle_hx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
pupaebug's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I also really did not understand how Theo kept getting his way. Is he charismatic? I didn't feel that he was. Why did everyone at the Grove just keep letting him do what he wanted? Why did they trust a new psychoanalyst (not a doctor) about medication but not Christian, a medical doctor with experience with patients such as Alicia and far more mental health training than Theo? Why was Theo so easily able to become Alicia's psychiatrist?
Another thing that infuriated me about this book is Alicia's journal. I've written in a diary on and off for my entire life, and I keep a regular diary now. Alicia's diary is not how normal people write. Normal people write about their own experiences from their perspective, which is distorted by their feelings on the matters they discuss. Diaries are stream-of-consciousness style. No one writes lines of perfect dialogue in their diary followed by novel-style narration. It completely took me out of it and made me think that the diary was fabricated as part of the mystery. That would have been interesting. Even Alicia's diary written in a stream-of-consciousness way, with unreliable and distorted perspectives, would have been interesting for the novel. But alas, we got none of those and it turns out Alex Michaelides just does not know how people keep journals.
I honestly also just think I've had enough of this incredibly simple, friendly style of narration I see in books published since 2015. This book just sounded like a guy was talking to a friend, and my personal preference is for writing that requires some mental dissection and thought. Theo plainly stated every single thing that he wanted to get through to the reader. While this isn't a bad thing, it made me feel like I was reading a book written for ten-year-olds who haven't developed the ability to understand other people's emotions yet. It was almost insulting as a reader, do I need it spelled out to me that Theo felt sad when he found out Kathy was cheating on him? Am I not trusted to infer a single thing on my own?
All this aside, the book was entertaining and kept me wanting to keep reading. I was confused by how short the chapters were,
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tabea1409's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lottyfarmer'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Eating disorder and Death of parent
anacecylopez'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Stalking, and Suicide attempt
lottie_wolf'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Stalking
Minor: Car accident