Reviews with content warning for Bullying - I Kissed Alice

Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

I Kissed Alice by Anna Birch

7 reviews

imaginingly's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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? Yes

4.0

this was a very cute YA book. it was a very easy read and although i wasn’t fond of how the ending was, i would definitely recommend this to someone just wanting a cute and quick LGBTQIA+ book

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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful slow-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

3.0

First read of 2022, let's go!

This was a cute enemies/rivals-to-lovers sapphic contemporary! I had a hard time distinguishing between the two points of view for a little while as they both felt really similar, but the characters eventually became more unique and easy to identify. I liked the Alice in Wonderland elements and the fandom/fanfiction parts of this book! I liked the setting as well.

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sheshallbenamed's review against another edition

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tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.75

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readingpicnic's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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make_believer's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

3.25

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samchase112's review against another edition

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I just realized I had absolutely no desire to go on with this book. I'm not about the friendship drama/angst, I'm already so confused on who is who and what they're fighting about, and after reading reviews I realized this is just not the book for me.

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evbyrd's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

Not for me, unfortunately. It's a romcom that is very light on both the romance and the comedy.

I didn't really feel the chemistry between the two romantic leads even though I was really looking forward to their dynamic. Having a secret identity (like their online accounts) is one of my favourite under-represented tropes in wlw fiction.

But they fought as much online as they did in real life. Shouldn'tthe tension be that they a have this great relationship online in contrast to real life? The pov characters spent more time thinking 'my online friend is my closest confidant and truest love' than they spent time actually, you know, trusting and supporting each other.

I felt like the story was just bouncing between the pov character hating everyone else (friends, romantic interest, family, teachers etc) and then hating themself. There was no ""good times"" to make me see what I should be rooting for, even though both pov characters reference people/relationships that are worth it. We never see that "good friendship" on the page

(Iliana says this about Sarah,. This is of course a red flag for the plot in the back half of the book - the whole POINT is that Sarah isn't a good friend for her anymore. But Alice does the same thing with Cheshire. They talk about how they were best friends, but other than 1 conversation at the start of the book, they are either always fighting or awkwardly trying to not say something the other person will dislike. Sparks WHERE? Romance WHO?)

Griffin was cool, give me a book about him and his dance partner trying to get into different dance competitions without his parents finding out. He's the one who knew about the cool art installation in the first place. The sibling dynamic between Griffin and Rhodes CARRIED this book and it was only fine. It could only do that heavy lifting because Griffin was actually of the page.

Also more of Iliana's mom, maybe please? Her graveyard shift is used as a signal to the reader that Iliana's family is stuck in a cycle of trades jobs / physical labour, and yet this QUEEN is only on the page long enough to give Iliana advice ONCE and then in the background crowd scene at the climax. Give more nuance to how Iliana's home life impacts her personality & future plans. The topic comes up so much, but it's almost always just about how Iliana can't pay for college. She lives at home, tell us something about her home life maybe!

We got so much of Rhodes' family and TO WHAT END?

Her mom basically disappears for the final third!!

I loved the premise, but the execution was frustrating. Nothing felt earned or justified, including every single kiss.

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