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laurataylor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Car accident, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Child death, and Suicide attempt
cakrolik's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Child death, Death, Death of parent, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Self harm, and Violence
ridesthesun's review against another edition
- 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
What a deeply beautiful story. This is an exploration of grief that is so completely hopeful and genuine, I don't have words. The relationships, the found family, the growth. It's just great stuff.
Hilarious and sweet and tragic aka IT'S MY SHIT PLEASE READ THIS BOOK
(do mind the trigger warnings though, this one deals with some heavy topics)
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Death, Grief, Violence, Blood, Child death, Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Confinement and Animal death
micklesreads'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
4.75
Everyone is incredibly good, of course. But it's still just a lovely book, and the ruminations on death and the afterlife are hopeful and healing. I loved it.
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Animal death, and Infidelity
innastholiel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Murder
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Mental illness, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Animal death and Car accident
kitausu's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Grief, Child death, and Death of parent
Moderate: Suicide, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident and Injury/Injury detail
spookily's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer
brdsk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Of course, ghosts alone were already a huge selling point for me, especially when presented as a diverse cast of characters that weren't identical copies of each other. At times whimsical and at times serious other characters (alive and dead) had nice backstories and some individual development to go through. I did enjoy most of them and was engaged, but ultimately I felt that many of them were too simple. Yes, each had strengths and flaws and a story to tell, but at times they still felt as if written for a pre-teen audience and almost too purposeful and structured... Perhaps that's not actually a bad thing though. I suppose I simply like characters with more chaotic and unexpected moments to them . Especially when reading a story that focuses on the exploration of the human nature.
This story deals with many serious subjects such as death (duh), mental health, trauma, suicide, murder, grief, divorce, acceptance, sexual orientation, and more. Many existential questions are explored, such as general morality, the purpose of life, redemption, the ideas of God and after life. Some of these subjects were heavy enough that the trigger warning at the beginning of the book felt absolutely justified. A few parts were hard enough to read that I needed my own calming tea breaks. However upon pushing through those I came out to the ultimately uplifting place that felt real but still full of hope. There were moments where the book veered into a slightly moralistic lane, but these platitudes worthy of Dumbledore did not sound empty to me as they were backed by the stories of the individual characters and their experiences, helping them gain depth. In addition, the skepticism and stubborn nature of the main character made such elements easier to process as he reflected my own desire to dismiss them until we both were ready to hear more.
The queer representation is something the author does in a really terrific way. Some characters were gay, some were bisexual, some addressed their experiences, some did not. Never did sexual orientation become their only identity. This was refreshing and is guaranteed to keep me reading more work by TJ Klune. A couple moments were mildly saucy, but never crude or explicit. Love is love, this book said. And I loved it for that as much as I loved it for the ghosts. (I have clear priorities, reader.)
I enjoyed the sweet and sarcastic humorous parts of the book, although by the end many such element have been repeated multiple times, making them less funny and less charming. It did not spoil the book, and I understand that it was helping balance out the serious themes, but it did feel less masterful than other parts of the book. The multiple references to the The House in the Cerulean Sea did make me smile each time as a lovely private nod to another book by TJ that I really loved.
The pacing of the book felt somewhat drawn out. I think it would have been a more powerful and purposeful novel at a somewhat shorter length. (Just like this review should have been.) In contrast to that, I felt really sad that a really cool and imaginative character I finally met close to the end got very little page time and was not explored in more depth.
Last but not least, I absolutely loved the scenery of the book. It was beautifully described and added a lot of atmosphere to the story. The stunning cover by Red Nose Studio is a true gem, and if I had any wall space left, I'd be getting a print of it.
VERDICT TIME.
Is this book worth attention? Yes. Are there flaws? Yes, especially some character depth and some pacing.
Should you read it? Consider how you handle triggering subjects mentioned above. If you are looking for a lighter read, try other books by this lovely author for now. Overall it manages these topics in a very tasteful manner and left me feeling good about life, but it was not always an easy path.
SECONDARY VERDICT.
As I write my reviews primarily for myself, I really should try to make them better organised and shorter. But I will not. At least not always. So there. >:)
Graphic: Death, Grief, Mental illness, and Murder
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Minor: Animal death, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
tinytrashqueen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Suicide, Violence, Terminal illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child death and Death of parent
purplatypus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, Mental illness, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Suicide, and Violence
Minor: Animal death, Infidelity, and Sexual content