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greatexpectations77's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Infidelity and Pregnancy
Moderate: Bullying and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Transphobia, Grief, Abandonment, and Alcohol
thenageler's review
- 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
3.25
Moderate: Infidelity and Pregnancy
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Infertility, Miscarriage, Car accident, Abortion, and Outing
faraway_'s review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Infertility, Infidelity, Transphobia, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Minor: Drug use, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment
klavanger's review
- 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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Transphobia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Homophobia, Abortion, and Dysphoria
Minor: Deadnaming, Drug use, Infertility, and Miscarriage
leahlovesloslibros's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I will admit, I was not immediately drawn into this story. I usually don't mind multiple POV, but for the first chunk of this book, I was having a hard time following the story lines. I'm glad I pushed through. Straub had a creative way of weaving characters' lives into each other, not just within the family, but also in the relationships that we see among characters living in a small town. I can relate to this, having grown up in a Midwestern suburb where not many people leave, and often you have the 'everyone knows everyone and their business' feeling.
Another enjoyable aspect of this book was that the author didn't shy away from hard topics. This story delves into many such topics, including but not limited to: homophobia, transphobia, death, death of a parent, grief, infidelity, addiction, infertility, miscarriage, abortion. Some of these topics are mentioned briefly, but many are woven into characters' storylines, which shows their flaws and makes the story more relatable.
If you grew up in a small town, I definitely recommend this read. If you didn't, I still recommend this read. I believe everyone will find someone or something relatable in this book.
Graphic: Death, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cursing, Deadnaming, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexual content, and Abortion
Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage
There is a brief Harry Potter reference.