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internationalreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
literaryelephant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Two downsides, imo: 1) I can't really imagine this holding up without the classic it leans on; doing a mental compare/contrast with Anna Karenina was 90% of the draw for me here and I would not recommend picking it up without first reading the original. And 2) these characters are incredibly shallow in a way that's not fully explored within the text. We've got teens giving Pre-Emptive Guilt Gifts and getting nose jobs and ranking girls on a Hot List; men are forgiven for cheating and general promiscuity while women are condemned. There's *some* self-reflection and challenging of unfairness here (Anna in particular is a stronger and more sympathetic character) but those moments are few and far between compared to the general glamour and excess coating every page. The presentation without commentary feels like a missed opportunity, and in a book marketed as YA it's a little worrying to me that there seems to be plenty of room for taking any of the sexist/elitist/self-destructive details at face value.
But I see Lee has a sequel coming up, and I suspect the need to go off-script there will push the story in some new, more interesting directions. Oh, and a warning: despite the smiling girl on the cover and the "A Love Story" tag under the title, this is still a tragedy, not a cute romance. The jacket had me fooled, but the classic ending is... not entirely eliminated.
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Animal death
leekaufman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Death, Child death, and Sexual content
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, and Mental illness
Minor: Racism, Xenophobia, and Self harm
hansbookshelf'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: Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, and Mental illness
Minor: Abortion
isabelburns's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Death, Grief, Infidelity, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Vomit and Suicidal thoughts