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ashfantastic98's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism and Death
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Abandonment
sineadburnett's review
adventurous
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Genocide, Religious bigotry, and Death
Moderate: War
dswilson85's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This beautiful story of friends and romance amidst the dawn of Fascism in Italy was cruising to a 5.0 rating until the last ten percent of the book. Without spoilers, the drama and action in those final pages ramped up to a wholly different and uncomfortably fast pace. The magic of the first 90% was in the engaging trio of main characters, and the detailed description of life in 1940's Rome. The somewhat leisurely pace of the book echoed Italian life as I know it, even today. Following a somewhat Hollywood-movie action scene at that 90% mark, I lost all enthusiasm for the remaining pages. It was as if the author felt the need to wrap up all the loose ends, when in fact the story could've been concluded by leaving much to the reader's imagination. 90%: 5.0. The remainder: unnecessary.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Murder, and Death
skey1952's review against another edition
emotional
informative
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This book has a very good (if quite predictable) plot. The 3 friends aspect seems more than a bit contrived. The writing is not at a level above YA. The characters are good, interesting, but need a bit more development in my opinion. I really wanted to like it more, but I found too much of the story glossed over.
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Death, Hate crime, and Religious bigotry
natalieba's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Antisemitism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, Physical abuse, Police brutality, and Religious bigotry
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