Reviews with content warning for Suicidal thoughts - You Exist Too Much

The timeline jumped around so much with little context so it was a bit hard to read. Side characters weren’t fleshed out enough to feel meaningful. The MC isn’t like able, which is fine, but there wasn’t much of a plot besides her being horrible to other people.

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noahsingh's review

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reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Interesting but couldn't hack the sheer amount of annoying men the main character was attached/attracted to.
The main interesting aspects to me (Palestinian heritage + relationship with their mother + the instances of Islamophobia/ acism & Zionism she faces) had very little space in the book.

Also I do think her outing that woman was unforgivable and I Hate Hate Hated that that (trigger warning) literal rapist white guy at The Lodge is, if anything, forgiven/absolved by the narrative.

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brotestantethic's review

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emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

The true definition of raw. Arafat achieved a stream of consciousness, across several years of plot, that will ring true with some part of the reader, no matter how small. The main character is selfish, traitorous, and destructive, and yet you root for her. Her huge personality is a major draw of this book.

This would have been five stars, but it is possible to be too raw, and this teeters the line. There is a lot going on, like in life, and it is hard to grasp what the meaning is of a particular chapter. I also found the treatment center confusing, with predictable characters and dialogue. Still I loved the unconventional structure and will be thinking about this book for a very long time.

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errie's review against another edition

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

3.5

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skudiklier's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.75

I was really engaged with this--after I got through the beginning bits and got properly into the story, I read almost the whole thing in a day. I found the protagonist relatable in a messy she-needs-help kind of way, and some of her struggles with things like abandonment and generational trauma were hard to read, but in a good way. I like the way the timeline jumps around and you don't find out things in chronological order, and I also like how the book addresses why the narrator's mom is the way she is, without excusing the way she treats the narrator. I'd recommend this book but I'd also definitely say to look at the content warnings first, since this book can get pretty heavy at times.

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