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keenanmaree's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
skanarulf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse
ginger_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mads1706's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
guinspired's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, and Sexual assault
shreka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
racheldkidder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
In addition to the overzealous attempt at a traumatic backstory, I found the main character, Sadie, to be just as artificial. I think now is a good time to mention that I have never personally been in any situation akin to what she experienced in this book, so take what I am saying with a grain of salt. However, Saide seemed like a middle-aged man's interpretation of an antisocial teenage girl. While it would be entirely appropriate and expected for her to be detached and somber, she seemed comically moody and jaded. To me, she came across as a caricature of what she should have been. She was insufferable and I was counting the pages until I didn't have to listen to her anymore.
Despite these repulsive aspects of the book, there were some ideas I did appreciate. In the synopsis of the book which The StoryGraph has provided, they explain that this book alternates chapters between Sadie's point of view and the podcaster's. I always enjoy it when authors experiment with the format of a "traditional" book to bring something new to the table and I thought the podcast transcripts were creative enough to be refreshing while also being orthodox enough to not be jarring. This brings me to the second thing about this book I enjoyed. I listened to portions of this book as an audiobook as well as read it in a physical form. The podcast chapters were well executed on the audiobook and if I wasn't aware I was listening to a book, I could have thought it truly was a podcast. I would highly recommend both reading physically and listening to the podcast chapters (although that is not necessary for the Saide chapters). Unfortunately, that is where my praise ends.
Overall, the idea for this book was commendable, but the execution was not. I personally am a big fan of psychological thrillers as well as murder mystery books, but this book was not thrilling enough to be a thriller nor mysterious enough to be a mystery. It simply fell short in every category.
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Self harm
aideenisareader'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Rape, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
tahmida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Vomit
ivybean's review against another edition
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment