Reviews tagging 'Chronic illness'

Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds

22 reviews

modernhobbitvibes's review

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Pros: The focus on friend-love and friends-as-family was good. Time loop plots are always fun and this was a good example of that.

Less a con, more that it's "not for me": Sometimes the teenagers act like teenagers in a way that activated my secondhand embarrassment hardcore. Less a criticism, more a warning that those prone to such feelings might cringe at a few sections.

Con: Kate was SEVERELY manic pixie dream girl'd in her characterization. That's the biggest factor that knocked this book down a few pegs. 

I'd say this is overall a pretty good book and worth reading, but the Kate characterization could've been better.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Medical content, Chronic illness, and Grief

Moderate: Cursing, Violence, Hate crime, Gun violence, Infidelity, Murder, and Racism

Minor: Car accident and Alcohol

Cursing: Two f-words that I can remember. Gun violence/hate crime/murder/racism: Occurs in the

fourth loop; one character is shot for wearing a hoodie and being non-white in an upper-class neighborhood.

Infidelity:

Also occurs in the fourth loop.

There is onscreen kissing, bed-sharing, no explicit sex though. Family troubles (divorce, paternal abandonment) are recurring plot issues.

deckleeditproof's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death and Chronic illness

genevieve_eggleston's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Chronic illness, Grief, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Medical trauma

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Cursing, Abandonment, Toxic friendship, and Car accident

Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Sexual content, and Vomit

jesse_5's review

challenging emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It is an amazing story but I did find the first few chapters a bit hard to follow due to the time junping about so muc

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, and Grief

Minor: Stalking, Abandonment, and Hate crime

one of the main characters has sickle cell and dies multiple times due to it. This is the main theme of the book. In one section there is a very toxic friendship and a character gets shot (he is ok) for being on someone’s property A character has a deadbeat dad who essentially abandoned him In one section of the book there is a minor theme of stalking as Jack decides to anonymously help Kate and spies on her to check treatment is working

micaelamariem's review

emotional medium-paced

• 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

3.0

I just finished one of my first books of the month, a Book of the Month pick from a few months ago, Opposite of Always by Justin A. Reynolds.

Essentially, Opposite of Always is a Groundhog’s Day retelling. Jack, the main character, meets Kate, the girl of his dreams. They could have had a whirlwind romance. But she dies. And while that should be the end, Jack finds himself back to the same day he met Kate. Again and again, stuck in this endless time loop trying to save Kate.

The author, Justin A. Reynolds, is an author from Ohio. Opposite of Always was his debut and it won the Indies Introduce Top Ten Debut Title and became a School Library Journal Best Book of the Year. Apparently, it’s also being adapted for film.


My initial impression is that while I enjoyed the book, I’m not sure I’m the kind of reader that likes time loops or time travel. I wasn’t sure before, but now I think those are things I’m just going to steer clear of. That being said, the story was still compelling. Particularly because the crux of the narrative lied with the characters.

Jack, the main character, always feels like he doesn’t measure up, especially against his two best friends. Kate is working against an illness she doesn’t want to define her life. Both Jillian and Franny are coming to terms with nontraditional families and troubles with their respective fathers. Through it all, Jack is working on who he is, how he can save his love, and how he can be a good friend. The main lesson, or theme, I took from the storyline was that sometimes instead of fixing the issue, it’s important just to be there and do what you can.

“Don’t be afraid. Take chances. And when those don’t work out, take more.”

For the most part, the book was also well-written. As a YA romance/science fiction, the chapters were short and sometimes, the main character was frusturating in his shallow thoughts and mistakes he made. But hey, that’s being a teenager. I think, perhaps, the main thing that annoyed me about Jack was how quickly he changed from the girl he was pining after to claiming affection for a new girl. It was all very “insta-love” and I really am not a fan of that.

Overall, however, I think the book met my expectations, if a little frusturating at times. I suppose I didn’t have as high hopes for this one and was still entertained. Still, I’d give the book three stars and I’d recommend to those who do like time loop stories.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Abandonment, and Cursing

Moderate: Death and Grief

Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

heathermarie08's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

What a cute story! The characters are loveable and I found myself rooting for them throughout the book. This story also makes you think how you would react if you were in Jack's shoes. The ending is also quite satiafying.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Chronic illness

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Alcoholism

bujo_bellel's review

emotional funny inspiring 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

3.5

I quite liked this book, it was rather slow at the start which I think could have been made quicker. I liked the build-up and how it teaches us the morale that time is precious and that we should never give up. I quite like the relationship between Jack and Kate. I really hate the pet name (baby) that Franny and Jillian called each other which is one of my pet peeves. This book was kind-of anti-climatic but it might be because I was reading this book for a long time and thus was in this world for very long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Chronic illness, and Death

Moderate: Terminal illness, Racism, and Abandonment

Minor: Gun violence, Car accident, and Alcohol

peachani's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad tense 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? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Medical content, and Chronic illness

Moderate: Car accident, Death, and Gun violence

Minor: Violence and Infidelity

meeklovestoread's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Oh my goodness! I'm so happy I finally got around to reading this book. The friendship, the romance, the banter, the importance of family all in one book. Chef's kiss! It was so sweet! I loved almost every minute of it. The representation in this book was phenomenal. Of course, whil the book wasn't 100% perfect for me I'd stil definitely recommend this book to anyone. Oh my goodness this book will have you feeling all the feels. 

But it sucks because this could've definitely become a comfort read for me if it weren't for the "3rd act breakup"

the betrayal that Jack commits again Francisco is callous. He literally goes on to date his best friend's girlfriend. I just found it to be so out of character for him. He knows how much Franny has struggled in life and the one person he though he could count on shatters his heart. I also don't like how easily Franny forgives Jack the first he screws up when he goes behind his back to "negotiate" with his dad. And also I don't like how Jillian liking Jack the whole time while she's dating Franny isn't addressed. Like she didn't even stop Jack when he kissed her. It made me look at their relationship differently and like Jillian a little less. She should be honest with Franny with her feelings because given what Franny has gone through he deserves someone that's willing to give him 100%.

I would lowkey like a sequel where we get Franny's story. I really liked his character.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, and Medical content

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Car accident, Police brutality, and Racism

ludmireads's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful tense fast-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

4.0

Giving this book 4 stars because I think this is what I’d rate it when I was 17 (a. k. a. when I was the target audience). 
I didn’t enjoy this book as much now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, and Medical content