Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Holding Up the Universe by Jennifer Niven

60 reviews

molly_appleby's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

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psliz's review against another edition

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hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

it was fine. didn’t find myself that interested in the characters or plot. 
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cowmingo's review against another edition

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challenging emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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annahamburger's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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terezar114's review

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hopeful informative inspiring slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I would've enjoyed this book more if I was five years younger, so if you're on the older side you will probably feel same. This book does cover some real topics as in bullying. Jack's illness that is real in this world was something interesting to learn about. Libby is an inspiration, the way she took on the world was amazing. It you don't like to read complicated book in terms of the plot you will enjoy this one. For me it was nothing special but you can enjoy it. 
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mirandap442's review against another edition

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challenging emotional informative sad slow-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

2.0

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duchess16's review against another edition

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3.75

I got a ton of “Eleanor and Park” vibes from this book except I enjoyed this one more. In this book Jack actually has things he’s struggling with. Libby is fat and jack is face-blind. Whereas in eleanor and park, parks only problem is that he’s an underrepresented minority that has never struggled a day in his life. And his only issue was he was dating a fat poor redhead. This one was more believable to me. This one made more sense. It was sometimes cliché (ahem when they first realized they had feelings omggg) but in another sense it wasn’t cliché at all. There was drama and confusion and oh no! He kissed the wrong girl again… and they worked it out. Not like every other teen romance story works issues out tho, they dealt with it like someone (imo) would work it out irl. There was a fair amount of swearing (I suppose it can be expected from public schoolers) so that bumped my rating as I didn’t enjoy it at all. But overall I did fairly enjoy this book. It had a very interesting idea of literally the worlds fattest teen and not just: oH Hi iM oVeRwEiGhT sO mY aUtHoR wRoTe Me As InSeCuRe AnD pEtTy. Ik that’s not how most fat kid novels go but I did mostly enjoy this books perspective. I really felt for Jack through his struggles tho as well. 
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reclusivebookslug's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective fast-paced
  • 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

I devoured this book in one day over just two sittings. I realized partway through that I've actually read this before and forgot about it. I don't know whether that says more about my memory and the book's forgettableness.

I think I relate to Libby now more than I did then. I've always been chubby and self-conscious about my weight, but in the past few years, I've become full-blown fat (not saying this as a self-insult, just a neutral descriptor). More than that, I relate to the feeling of feeling left behind or left out of "normal" life, although for different reasons.
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aphatius's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring 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

2.5

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wynrii's review against another edition

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I couldn’t finish as I lost interest in the story. It had a unique plot that i was interested in, although, I feel as if the relationship between the two main characters was rushed and under developed. I felt as if the direction of the book was for those two to end in a romantic relationship. I would have preferred for them to stay as friends who have each other’s back in that dynamic. Them being pushed as romantic interests didnt feel right as the friendship stage was so short.
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