renyoi'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
4.0
Spoiler
specifically Wally, whose villainy went rather unexamined in any meaningful way the entire timeGraphic: Death of parent, Stalking, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Infidelity and Grief
Minor: Gun violence
coookiecat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Alcohol, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Death, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/injury detail
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: Sexual content
raquelcanread'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
3.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Violence, Death of parent, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
leaflit'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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Death of parent, Murder, and Infidelity
Moderate: Classism, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Mental illness, Grief, and Gaslighting
caseythereader'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, and Injury/injury detail
tamara_joy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Murder, Infidelity, Death of parent, Death, and Grief
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
2.5
The first half quarter of the book was honestly so good. I was so drawn in by the story and the mystery and the characters. But towards the halfway point I thought the story had grown very repetitive and boring. I was kind of desperate for it to be over so I could move onto another book which is never a good thing.
Also by the halfway point I had already guessed the two biggest twists in the story so I didn't really feel surprised at all when either of them were revealed. I was just like "oh okay cool I was right" but not even in a satisfying way.
I thought the ending was super unsatisfying and a bit too open ended for my tastes at least.
Also I felt like a lot of the sacrifices and choices made by the characters were just dumb and unjustified.
Spoiler
Wally's whole motivation made no sense to me and his actions were so extreme. Like turning into a serial killer just to protect the secret of this town??? And for what reason??? Literally makes no sense to me still. Also Tam deciding to live in the Agloe for multiple decades just felt pointless. Like what person would give up their whole life with a loving husband and a tobbler just for some town even if it was a secret town. Turning the husband you are supposed to love into a single parent when you could idk just call the police and/or run away. Also Swan's death was overly dramatic and I thought it added nothing to the story.Honestly the idea of the book really interested me but the execution of it was disappointing. Most of the characters fell flat and were unbelievable to me. The story also felt underdeveloped and had a few obvious plot holes. Plus the world building just wasn't it and left me with so many questions.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Infidelity, and Murder
erandle'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? No
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Gun violence
lilifane'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? Yes
4.0
I'm always craving more books about a friends group and an adventure that is not YA, and it's really hard to find those. So I was really happy that this book turned out to be exactly what I was searching for for so long. I really love the idea behind The Cartographers. And I very much enjoyed the book, even though some of the reveals were too predictable and some decisions... didn't make any sense. But I was willing to just go with it because I liked the overall story so much.
The weakest point is definitely the characters. Although you get a lot of their backstories, I had a hard time to get emotionally attached to them. Especially the friends group, it would have made it so much more believable and emotional if we experienced more interactions between them that explained their bond and different relationships a little bit more.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, and Toxic friendship
sophie42's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, and Infidelity
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Injury/injury detail and Grief