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maaike96's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
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? N/A
3.75
divergentpixie's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-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
5.0
Loved this. Was so real and the characters made me happy.
I love the friend group and Sam’s dad.
I felt like I was really there with Sam, reliving everything.
The writing is so well done.
The ending was wrapped up so nicely, there were no questions left unanswered.
-autistic rep
-queer
-found family
-ghosts?
*homophobia, assault, transphobia
I love the friend group and Sam’s dad.
I felt like I was really there with Sam, reliving everything.
The writing is so well done.
The ending was wrapped up so nicely, there were no questions left unanswered.
-autistic rep
-queer
-found family
-ghosts?
*homophobia, assault, transphobia
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Biphobia, Transphobia, Stalking, Physical abuse, Hate crime, and Child death
Minor: Alcohol and Vomit
kstorm's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
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? No
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Outing, Transphobia, and Homophobia
Moderate: Ableism and Biphobia
Minor: Alcohol
sefalinde's review
emotional
mysterious
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Transphobia, Self harm, and Gun violence
Moderate: Death, Dysphoria, Murder, Bullying, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Biphobia
briereads's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
slow-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? It's complicated
5.0
abigail_eck's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
beranceknows's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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? It's complicated
3.75
bhrtng's review against another edition
slow-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
This was such a sweet book! The main character, Sam Sylvester, has just moved to a new town and a new school after they were almost killed by a transphobic act of violence in their previous town. Even before their own near-death experience, the deaths of teenagers were their autistic special interest. They keep all of their research in their book of "half-lived lives". Unbeknownst to Sam and their dad, they've moved into a house where a teen died 30 years ago. Sam makes it their mission to get to the bottom of the "tragic accident" that ended that teen's life too soon.
The author identifies as queer, autistic, and non-binary and their lived experience made Sam's character feel so real! Little details like Sam's stimming, overstimulation migraines, binding, gender feels, non-verbal moments, etc. felt so accurate and thoughtfully included. This book is amazing for its representation. As much as I enjoyed the characters and story, I found myself moving through the book pretty slowly though, I'm not sure why! The mystery did keep me on my toes even though the big reveal wasn't THAT surprising. I recommended this to anyone looking for a queer mystery (rare) or a realistic depiction of autism. I loved that the representation was so well included, but this was not a story about Sam's gender, sexuality, or autism--the focus of the plot was definitely the mystery!
The author identifies as queer, autistic, and non-binary and their lived experience made Sam's character feel so real! Little details like Sam's stimming, overstimulation migraines, binding, gender feels, non-verbal moments, etc. felt so accurate and thoughtfully included. This book is amazing for its representation. As much as I enjoyed the characters and story, I found myself moving through the book pretty slowly though, I'm not sure why! The mystery did keep me on my toes even though the big reveal wasn't THAT surprising. I recommended this to anyone looking for a queer mystery (rare) or a realistic depiction of autism. I loved that the representation was so well included, but this was not a story about Sam's gender, sexuality, or autism--the focus of the plot was definitely the mystery!
dani_1405's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
medium-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? No
5.0
I love this book. It had me gripped from the start and held me there for the entire book. The mystery part of this story is excellent and is revealed and obscured in the most perfect way and then you combine it with the deeply queer storylines and it just becomes outstanding. Sam is a character that I relate to in a way that I don't think I can fully comprehend but they hold such a dear place in my heart. All the side characters are excellent, some highlights (a list of basically all of them): Sam's dad is the coolest, Shep is the sweetest, Sky is the best and Aidan is the coolest. Also Sam's tattoo is just so fucking cool. The way Sam and Shep's relationship develops while they also deal with solving the mystery of Billy's death is brilliant. I also appreciated how Sam's autism was represented and how Shep is so readily accepting and does her best to be accommodating. Also the reveal of who killed Billy? Both so cool and terrifying, the second Sam's dad was in danger I was so upset, finding out it was Shep's dad was awful and Shep's mother thinking she killed Billy all those years was so sad. I love this book, I will forever sing its praises, I can't wait to see what this author does next.