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gabuwu's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I read this because it was challenged at my local school district and I was offered to serve on a committee to review it. This book was deeply, deeply depressing but I enjoyed it regardless. I do have some qualms with the way some of the characters were presented, but I am glad I stuck with it till the end because there was a point where I was iffy and then instantly shifted to one of my most memorable books I've ever read. I feel like this book however, should contain some pretty big trigger warnings. It is very, very, VERY upsetting. Like, I honestly had to take a few breaks here and there just to get thru it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Suicide, Grief, and Death of parent
anton13's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
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
5.0
Wow… just wow. Once again Adam has written a sob story and it’s amazing. Like almost better than they both die at the end. I do have to warn that it’s got a lot of content that can be triggering to people so pls check tw before reading it. But Omg over all an amazing read. One of the best books I’ve read! And the end… I was not expecting that. Everything seemed to be a mess so the fact that Adam was able to tie it all together like that in the end and give a satisfying end was just wonderful. I laughed and cried with these people, just an amazing book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying, Medical content, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Child death, Cursing, Dementia, Drug use, Suicide, Chronic illness, Death, Self harm, and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Gun violence, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Emotional abuse, and Pregnancy
kalin_grace's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Abandonment
parasolcrafter's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.75
yknow that image of the guy whos crying but holding a thumbs up??? thats how i feel rn
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content
m_riaelle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
First of all, I feel sorry for those who've read this without the new final chapter. Just thinking of myself finishing this book without it, I knew I would have given it one star out of spite. I never wanted (needed) a character to actually have a break from all the shits life is giving him.
Second, as always, I'm here for the sad and intense feelings that I get from Adam Silvera's books, and I'm heartbreakingly satisfied. The twists in his books never failed to shock me.
Third, why not five stars? I would never ever tolerate cheating. I would have let it slide if it was done once due to poor decisions, but it happened for so long and happened again when the characters saw the chance to do so. I know the author tied the loose ends, but I just can't let that go. It does happen in real life, and one of the most things I hated is that.
Fourth, another reason why I didn't give this five stars? It's because I found myself skimming the first few and some middle chapters, which means it didn't give any impact at all. Also, I'm considering what I would've given this without the new final chapter, and for a debut book, this is surprisingly good.
CW: Gun Violence, Drugs, Mention of Armed Robbery, Suicidal Ideation, Grief, Suicide, Death of Parent, Self-harm, Homophobic Slur, Toxic Relationships, Toxic Friendships, Hate Crime, Homophobia, Cheating, Assault, Blood, Depression, Hospitalisation, Physical Abuse, Profanity, Teenage Pregnancy, and Violence (search it up for more specifics or correct CW as mine is what I thought was triggering while I read it)
Second, as always, I'm here for the sad and intense feelings that I get from Adam Silvera's books, and I'm heartbreakingly satisfied. The twists in his books never failed to shock me.
Third, why not five stars? I would never ever tolerate cheating. I would have let it slide if it was done once due to poor decisions, but it happened for so long and happened again when the characters saw the chance to do so. I know the author tied the loose ends, but I just can't let that go. It does happen in real life, and one of the most things I hated is that.
Fourth, another reason why I didn't give this five stars? It's because I found myself skimming the first few and some middle chapters, which means it didn't give any impact at all. Also, I'm considering what I would've given this without the new final chapter, and for a debut book, this is surprisingly good.
CW: Gun Violence, Drugs, Mention of Armed Robbery, Suicidal Ideation, Grief, Suicide, Death of Parent, Self-harm, Homophobic Slur, Toxic Relationships, Toxic Friendships, Hate Crime, Homophobia, Cheating, Assault, Blood, Depression, Hospitalisation, Physical Abuse, Profanity, Teenage Pregnancy, and Violence (search it up for more specifics or correct CW as mine is what I thought was triggering while I read it)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Homophobia, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Blood, Hate crime, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Violence, Suicide, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
allyxmoon's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Outing, Dementia, Suicide attempt, Violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Biphobia, Mental illness, Medical content, Hate crime, and Dysphoria
cateemma's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? Yes
3.0
Trigger warnings: suicide, suicidal thoughts, violent homophobia, abusive parents
THE NARRATIVE
Characters: 4/5
A nice mix of completely loveable and utterly detestable characters, all well-rounded. Aaron especially had a clear voice, though (and perhaps this was deliberate and I'm just dumb) sometimes his feelings were unclear or brushed over.
Plot: 4/5
An extra star for the plot twist I can't believe I didn't see coming, it was so perfect and shocking (usually I guess the ending/twist in books but for some reason I didn't in this one??). Overall, the plot was a bit messy and there was a lot to follow, but it kept me engaged and entertained throughout.
Writing: 4.5/5
Objectively, I can see that this book is written super well, but the writing style wasn't particularly to my taste - though that didn't stop me loving the book. This might be a weird thing to notice, but even though there was heaps of swearing, it never felt unnecessary? Like it just fit Aaron's character so well and added a lot to passages that wouldn't have been as impactful otherwise.
THE THEMES
Sexuality: 3.5/5
Honestly, the reason for the low rating is that one, I couldn't relate to Aaron's experiences, and two, there weren't really any lgbtqia+ characters who were happy with themselves and that just got to me a bit. Aaron's mum's support was beautiful, though, I loved that part of it.
I also found it weird how SpoilerAaron was so convinced Thomas was actually gay and in love with him and also there was low-key bi-erasure but that's fine.
Mental illness: 4/5
Once again, I just personally couldn't relate to Aaron's experiences the way I have been able to with other YA characters, so I don't think I can fairly judge the portrayal of mental illness in this one.
Friendship:
I just feel like Genevieve and Aaron would have been beautiful friends, okay? Those two and Thomas would have made an awesome trio if there weren't all the complications and history.
MY THOUGHTS
I don't really know how I feel about this book. I know I couldn't put it down while reading it, but I don't look back on it that fondly. I definitely want to read more of Adam Silvera's books though, I'll be borrowing or purchasing them asap.
THE NARRATIVE
Characters: 4/5
A nice mix of completely loveable and utterly detestable characters, all well-rounded. Aaron especially had a clear voice, though (and perhaps this was deliberate and I'm just dumb) sometimes his feelings were unclear or brushed over.
Plot: 4/5
An extra star for the plot twist I can't believe I didn't see coming, it was so perfect and shocking (usually I guess the ending/twist in books but for some reason I didn't in this one??). Overall, the plot was a bit messy and there was a lot to follow, but it kept me engaged and entertained throughout.
Writing: 4.5/5
Objectively, I can see that this book is written super well, but the writing style wasn't particularly to my taste - though that didn't stop me loving the book. This might be a weird thing to notice, but even though there was heaps of swearing, it never felt unnecessary? Like it just fit Aaron's character so well and added a lot to passages that wouldn't have been as impactful otherwise.
THE THEMES
Sexuality: 3.5/5
Honestly, the reason for the low rating is that one, I couldn't relate to Aaron's experiences, and two, there weren't really any lgbtqia+ characters who were happy with themselves and that just got to me a bit. Aaron's mum's support was beautiful, though, I loved that part of it.
I also found it weird how SpoilerAaron was so convinced Thomas was actually gay and in love with him and also there was low-key bi-erasure but that's fine.
Mental illness: 4/5
Once again, I just personally couldn't relate to Aaron's experiences the way I have been able to with other YA characters, so I don't think I can fairly judge the portrayal of mental illness in this one.
Friendship:
I just feel like Genevieve and Aaron would have been beautiful friends, okay? Those two and Thomas would have made an awesome trio if there weren't all the complications and history.
MY THOUGHTS
I don't really know how I feel about this book. I know I couldn't put it down while reading it, but I don't look back on it that fondly. I definitely want to read more of Adam Silvera's books though, I'll be borrowing or purchasing them asap.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Hate crime
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Self harm, and Blood
prehistoricpotatoes's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, and Hate crime
rynaissanceenby's review against another edition
emotional
sad
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
2.75
I have really mixed feelings about this book. I think the most important thing to know going into it is that it's problematic in a lot of ways, but the intention is to sort of dismantle the misconceptions that lead to those problematic takes. The problem is that it takes way too long to do that, and even once it gets there, it leans too hard into the misconceptions. It makes them feel like reasonable ways to think.
I also felt that a lot of interpersonal relationships felt unrealistic, but this might be a product of my relatively sheltered upbringing. At several points I found myself thinking, "This is ridiculous, nobody would ever get into a physical fight over this" or thoughts along those same lines, but the reality is that I don't understand why anyone would get into a physical altercation over just about anything. So maybe that's just my white suburbia upbringing talking.
Finally, I found the sci-fi-ish premise to be really dissatisfying. We were simultaneously given too many and too few details in order for me to sustain my disbelief. The basic idea is that Lateo can bury specific memories for you, but the idea that memories rarely resurface even with the triggers of being in familiar surroundings where the original memories happened is just a bit too far fetched for me. The pacing of this part of the narrative was a bit odd too. Lateo was hardly mentioned at all in the first half of the book, and it was absolutely crucial to the second half of the book. I think a little more foreshadowing would have done this book well.
All that being said, I considered DNFing this one, but it did get better in the second half, so I think it was worth my time. Especially since it was an audiobook, so I listened to it while cooking.
On that note, I felt that the choice of audiobook narrator was questionable. This story is told from the perspective of teenagers, and having a middle-aged dude narrate it...did not sound right. Furthermore, the voices the narrator did for the different characters were spotty. I was expecting to be able to tell who was talking from the different sorts of cadences and accents he was giving the different characters, but, especially when two characters were having a back and forth dialogue, their voices started blurring together and it go difficult to tell them apart.
I also felt that a lot of interpersonal relationships felt unrealistic, but this might be a product of my relatively sheltered upbringing. At several points I found myself thinking, "This is ridiculous, nobody would ever get into a physical fight over this" or thoughts along those same lines, but the reality is that I don't understand why anyone would get into a physical altercation over just about anything. So maybe that's just my white suburbia upbringing talking.
Finally, I found the sci-fi-ish premise to be really dissatisfying. We were simultaneously given too many and too few details in order for me to sustain my disbelief. The basic idea is that Lateo can bury specific memories for you, but the idea that memories rarely resurface even with the triggers of being in familiar surroundings where the original memories happened is just a bit too far fetched for me. The pacing of this part of the narrative was a bit odd too. Lateo was hardly mentioned at all in the first half of the book, and it was absolutely crucial to the second half of the book. I think a little more foreshadowing would have done this book well.
All that being said, I considered DNFing this one, but it did get better in the second half, so I think it was worth my time. Especially since it was an audiobook, so I listened to it while cooking.
On that note, I felt that the choice of audiobook narrator was questionable. This story is told from the perspective of teenagers, and having a middle-aged dude narrate it...did not sound right. Furthermore, the voices the narrator did for the different characters were spotty. I was expecting to be able to tell who was talking from the different sorts of cadences and accents he was giving the different characters, but, especially when two characters were having a back and forth dialogue, their voices started blurring together and it go difficult to tell them apart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Hate crime
Minor: Racism
vespertyne's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence