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alastaire's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Addiction, Death of parent, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Child death, Child abuse, and Grief
Minor: Sexual assault, Incest, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, and Terminal illness
jcole32's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, Child abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Death of parent, and Miscarriage
bringmybooks's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
B̷R̷I̷N̷G̷ B̷O̷R̷R̷O̷W̷ ✨ 𝗕𝗬𝗣𝗔𝗦𝗦 ✨
I loved the idea of this novel, I loved the characters, I loved the island setting, I …. liked the book okay enough.
That being said, I truly don’t think it should have been marketed for adult readers.
I think that the pure simplicity of loving books and how much magic books hold for us will make this book work for a lot of people, and there are parts that brought a huge smile to my face, but it just missed the mark a bit overall.
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Abandonment, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Miscarriage, Child death, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide, Child abuse, Terminal illness, Addiction, Cancer, Pregnancy, and Homophobia
louisekf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, and Terminal illness
gondorgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Chronic illness, Addiction, and Child death
sheryl's review
- 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
Minor: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Incest, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child death
gholdreith's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Minor: Chronic illness, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death of parent, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Miscarriage, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, Death, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
laurenabeth's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Spellbound. I am spellbound. Giddy. Gleeful. Childlike. I don’t believe I have ever been childlike, but this book is that kind of transformative. It put fuel in my tank; it brightened my darkness; it lifted me from my misery. This is the most magical book that doesn’t include magic, the most whimsical book that I don’t think ever used the word “whimsy,” and the most gratifyingly crafted prose I’ve read in years.
I can barely contain my joy to review this, except to say it was un-put-downable. I timed my reading session, and I blew through this in 5.28 hours. This is the most valuable 5.28 hours I’ve spent in ages.
Teacher’s aid Lucy is selected with a few other strangers to play a game at the remote home of a reclusive children’s author and his despondent illustrator. Questions and riddles and mysteries follow, but there are bigger prizes at stake…
You love Lucy. You love Jack. You’re praying that Christopher gets what he deserves, and you hope that Hugo gets that too. This is a story about the power of wishes and the fact that wishes aren’t granted, they’re chased. They are breathed into life by the mind and then hunted down and made manifest by sheer force of will and determination. And even then, you don’t get what you wish for, you get what you deserve.
This is a book about books, about love and hope, about found family and the power of fantasy. It’s a story within a story maybe within another story, and each ending feels like the warm sun on your face after a winter of gloom.
Trigger warning for various forms of child abuse, neglect, illness, bigotry. But for the love of all things holy and unholy, read this. I burst into tears around page 245, and haven’t stopped crying since. It’ll be the fastest thing you’ll read, and the thing you put at the top of your re-read list. I never re-read anything, but I already can’t wait to read this again.
It’s not too heavy, not too light, and is as near to perfectly charming as a book can be. A million stars, a million likes, a million thanks.
Graphic: Grief and Abandonment
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Abortion, Incest, Pedophilia, Drug abuse, Child death, Addiction, Cancer, and Miscarriage
gummifrog's review
- 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
4.25
The prose is easy to read and inventive in its use of metaphor, and made me feel very nostalgic for the feel of books I read as a child. The games within were riddles and puzzles which were fun to try and figure out on my own as I read - just like I used to as a kid! I adored this interactive aspect and thought the author executed it brilliantly.
The relationships feel so real and fleshed out, and all the characters are very witty and playful with each other. This works so well between Lucy and Christopher, the child she wishes to adopt, with their banter really showing a closeness and understanding between them. And it also works great in scenes between Lucy and Hugo, whose flirtations always brought a smile to my face.
The only place the character writing fell flat for me was when, every once in a while, Lucy would get inordinately angry at some perceived slight and fly off the handle at another character, only to want to immediately apologize the next scene. It felt like it was a bit of emotional up-and-down just for the sake of it. But it wasn't enough to sour the book for me overall, just a small nitpick.
Also: I saw another reviewer being icked out by the age difference between Lucy and Hugo, her love interest, but she is 26 and he is 34, so only an eight-year difference between two consenting adults (albeit they met once, only very briefly, when she was 13, and nothing untoward occurred). This book is very romance-lite, with the two characters mostly connecting emotionally over their similar trauma and love of art. Do with that information what you will.
The happy ending was extremely heartwarming. I flew through this book which surprised me, since I tend to like more fantasy in my literary fiction! Highly recommend for anyone who needs a hopeful, positive book with a bit of substance.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death of parent, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcoholism
Minor: Child death, Pedophilia, and Suicide attempt
beyourbestshelf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Abandonment and Emotional abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, Cancer, Child death, Death of parent, Addiction, and Chronic illness