Scan barcode
nicolson729's review against another edition
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood
Moderate: Death, Vomit, and Bullying
Minor: Toxic friendship, Drug use, Sexual content, and Physical abuse
kitrook's review against another edition
3.75
jesus that was grim. i feel like it really could have benefitted from being longer, but it was an interesting novel because really no one wins. however, I felt like as a reader I didn't really have any stakes in the game because it was too short. I liked the narrative style difference between Todd and Georgia (3rd person vs 1st). It gives you the feeling that Todd's Spirit, his Essence, his Being is already gone.
more information about content warning nuances in spoilers
content warning for minor/adult relationship is because one is assumed, however it does NOT actually happen. it is a false assumption made by others. murder is criminally negligent manslaughter and not a hate crime
more information about content warning nuances in spoilers
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, and Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
february_friday's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
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
5.0
I have loved Mariko Tamaki's graphic novels for a very long time. So since I heard she has also written a couple of novels, I have been really excited to try them out. This one is a dual POV novel about the murder of a teenage boy. One of the narrators is the ghost of the boy, and the other is Georgia, a girl who has nothing to do with the murder but ends up getting involved in her own investigation.
This book was more of an exploration of the experience of being a queer teenager, which in parts got a bit triggering for how accurate it was. Tamaki's characters always feel extremely real, almost like I was watching security camera footage I wasn't supposed to see. It also has a bit of a plot, making the story's pain bearable. On that same note, this was a great murder mystery! Even though that wasn't the main goal of the author, I found myself as surprised as the main character when she found out what actually happened.
I must admit that the book may not be for everyone, but if you are the type of reader who enjoys character studies that also discuss relevant topics, I think you will love this one.
This book was more of an exploration of the experience of being a queer teenager, which in parts got a bit triggering for how accurate it was. Tamaki's characters always feel extremely real, almost like I was watching security camera footage I wasn't supposed to see. It also has a bit of a plot, making the story's pain bearable. On that same note, this was a great murder mystery! Even though that wasn't the main goal of the author, I found myself as surprised as the main character when she found out what actually happened.
I must admit that the book may not be for everyone, but if you are the type of reader who enjoys character studies that also discuss relevant topics, I think you will love this one.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Bullying
Moderate: Vomit
Minor: Sexual content and Outing
libscote's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Told in alternating view between Georgia, an outcast queer teen, and Todd, the dead teen in question, this story outlines the murder of a boy and the steps that led to that conclusion. It didn't go the way I thought, which was a fun change. It is a book with another dead LGBTQ+ individual, but the author acknowledges why they did it in an author note at the end which I found helpful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Child death, Death, Sexual content, and Bullying
buttermellow's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Child death, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying and Outing
Minor: Racism, Homophobia, and Classism
melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan Audio for an ALC of this book.
A boy who froze to death. A girl determined to sleuth out what happened. The person that connects them both.
This was a murder mystery with strong themes of homophobia. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out what exactly had happened, but I absolutely hated the main characters. They were annoying and extremely judgmental, constantly making comments about other people in their own heads, which I hate in books. This is one thing if the character then grows and changes, but that didn't happen in this one at all.
Also....really just no character in this is likeable. Maybe that is on purpose? But I didn't enjoy that about it at all. And the ending was very sad. So...this is not a happy book.
A boy who froze to death. A girl determined to sleuth out what happened. The person that connects them both.
This was a murder mystery with strong themes of homophobia. I enjoyed the story and trying to figure out what exactly had happened, but I absolutely hated the main characters. They were annoying and extremely judgmental, constantly making comments about other people in their own heads, which I hate in books. This is one thing if the character then grows and changes, but that didn't happen in this one at all.
Also....really just no character in this is likeable. Maybe that is on purpose? But I didn't enjoy that about it at all. And the ending was very sad. So...this is not a happy book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Child death
Moderate: Bullying
Minor: Pedophilia
caseythereader's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Thanks to Macmillan Publishing for the free advance copy of this book.
- COLD is a quick, gripping YA murder mystery. At less than 250 pages, the story moves along at a clip, dragging you directly into Todd and Georgia's minds as they unravel the events surrounding Todd's death.
- It's sad and tense and terrible and I just had to know what happened. I felt so deeply for these two kids, outcasts in different ways, just trying to be themselves and be accepted for it.
- It does feel very neatly tied up at the end, but I think one can expect a YA mystery to be a little less messy than an adult murder mystery novel.
- COLD is a quick, gripping YA murder mystery. At less than 250 pages, the story moves along at a clip, dragging you directly into Todd and Georgia's minds as they unravel the events surrounding Todd's death.
- It's sad and tense and terrible and I just had to know what happened. I felt so deeply for these two kids, outcasts in different ways, just trying to be themselves and be accepted for it.
- It does feel very neatly tied up at the end, but I think one can expect a YA mystery to be a little less messy than an adult murder mystery novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Fatphobia
betweentheshelves's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Most of this felt pretty surface level to me, and overall, the text is really image heavy. Tamaki does such a great job with graphic novels, and I feel like that's what she should stick to? Either way, full review to come soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Child death, Bullying, Violence, and Homophobia
thelittlestmermaid's review against another edition
mysterious
tense
slow-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? No
3.25
* Thanks to NetGalley for providing an eARC in exchange for an honest review! *
Cold by Mariko Tamaki is a slow-paced mystery novel about two teenage outcasts, one of whom was murdered, and how their lives are intertwined- even though they didn't know each other.
The story is told in two perspectives, Georgia's and Todd's. Georgia is the daughter of a successful children's book author and goes to an all-girl's private school where she only has one friend. Todd is an only child and went to an all-boy's private school, at least until he was killed. Georgia's perspective mostly tells about her life at school and at home. She feels drawn to Todd for some reason after hearing about him on the news, despite having never met him. Todd's perspective is all about him watching over his own murder case. He follows the two detectives in charge of the case and watch them try to piece it together.
This story was intriguing and kept me wondering what was going to happen, although at times it felt as though it was dragging on. Halfway through the book we had learned almost nothing about what had happened to Todd and at that point most of what we had discovered was that Todd had no friends and no online presence. Even though that was stated pretty openly in the first few chapters of the book. And it kept going that way until about 75% of the way through the book. At that point things picked up and everything finished up quickly.
The characters didn't really stand out to me as protagonists of the story. Georgia was fun to read about, as caught up in her high school drama as she was. Though that was due to her friend and the drama going on with her being interesting. It felt like a lot of Georgia's personality was being uncertain if her friend was actually her friend and how much she hated her mom's books. And Todd felt as though he was just a background character and like we were reading the detectives' perspectives as opposed to his own. He would fill in the gaps with memories that the detectives couldn't get but he didn't really have much of a personality. He felt very apathetic about a lot of the issues and toward his own death. I felt more interested in the detectives and in Georgia's friends and family at points, as that's what it felt like the story was focused on.
Typically I'm not a fan of books with so much of a slow build, but this one had such an interesting ending that it was worth it for me. While some things about it left me feeling a little underwhelmed I really did love the ending of the book. Overall, the story was enjoyable and fun to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Violence
More...