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gizelleinak's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Blood
kyndallb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Death, Incest, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
callme_tippy'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
2.0
I so wish that the two main characters were not related. I found the incest storyline very off-putting. It made it impossible for me to feel happy about their "love story", it just feels traumatizing and wrong.
This story could have been beautiful and heartbreaking had the love interests not been so closely related. I feel that the incest doesn't add anything to the story and actually takes away from it. I would have felt more connected to the characters, and rooted for them had they not been related. It would have been so easy to make Osita a best friend instead of a first cousin. A first cousin that was raised as Viveks brother and that he often calls brother.
I am baffled why Akwaeke chose this dynamic. It makes me wary to read more of their work.
I also find it weird to make a trans character that has some type of mental illness going on, also be in an incestuous relationship. Not that it is right, but people already view trans people as taboo and wrong, so I find it strange to add a taboo and strange relationship to the mix. I don't know, something about that feels weird to me.
We don't get any insight, information, or answer about what what type of mental illness going on with Vivek. She has these black outs that get brought up but not explained which I found frustrating. I wanted to know what that was about and why she has no recollection of these episodes.
This book was just not it for me. I liked Vivek the most out all the characters, but I really had no favorites, the cast of characters was interesting to say the least.
1 star for good writing, 1 star for well fleshed out characters. The incest ruined this one for me. I so wish they made the simple change to make them best friends instead of first cousins, I just could not connect.
Graphic: Ableism, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual violence
ilianreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Outing, and Dysphoria
mirandyli's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
ksuazo94's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Transphobia, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Incest, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
barium_squirrel'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
Moderate: Deadnaming, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Outing, and Injury/Injury detail
angiepoggi'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? It's complicated
4.75
Vivek's death is not only about the act of not ever being able to breath anymore, it's about the death of who his family thought he was, and, as well as his birth that was accompanied by grief, about her rebirth.
It's such a carefully woven story that never let's go of the nuances of every decision and thought of It's characters, who, if you told me were real, I would've believed without sparing a doubt.
Even thought there were some relationships that I have conflicted feelings about and believe could've been brought here in a different way, I'll still cary this story for life and think about it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Rape
bookishmillennial's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Well, that was devastating! This story is told by multiple narrators as we get more and more parts of Vivek's story, leading up to his death. The timeline alternates between before and after his death, until we finally receive clarity of how he died at the very end. Everyone he left behind is navigating the aftermath, and this book poses so many poignant questions about sexuality, gender expression, family dynamics, cultural attitudes, and internalized hatred. Vivek's mother Kavita and his cousin Osita are two characters who are especially not coping well after Vivek's death, and a massive part of it is their inability to accept Vivek for who they really were.
This book was heartbreaking, and Akwaeke continues to evoke visceral emotions from us, and I'm not mad at them for doing it. (I mean, a little because this book hurt, but like, also, wow, what a genius!) Anyway, take care while reading <3
Graphic: Deadnaming, Homophobia, Incest, Sexism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, and Outing
vajaakirjahylly'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
4.75
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia