Reviews tagging 'Grief'

Only Mostly Devastated by Sophie Gonzales

61 reviews

ophycore's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Fatphobia, Medical content, Outing, Bullying, Infidelity, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Death of parent, Grief, Body shaming, Cursing, Cancer, Biphobia, Misogyny, and Sexism

Moderate: Eating disorder

Minor: Alcohol

capriqueen's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

Nice story. Main character behaved very much like a teenager sometimes, which—while realistic—was somewhat annoying. Liked the bi rep

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer and Grief

lixard's review against another edition

hopeful lighthearted fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

a great read! i didn't even realize/remember it was a grease retelling! my favourite parts were the accepting moments between the two mains and their friends. all the characters in this book basically went through a maturation when they realized that reciprocating kindness and understanding will get them further than sheer snark and judginess. my most disappointing part was the teen speak, sigh, i just don't think teens (or anyone) have that much internal commentary going on. i know my brain was certainly empty most of the time. my most cried part was the discussions of grief - it always gets me grr. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Homophobia, Biphobia, and Medical content

mythopoeia's review against another edition

emotional funny sad fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Medical content, Outing, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Biphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Body shaming

psliz's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

5.0

an amazing story filled with banter, humor, and pining but an even more amazing cast of friends. it’s lighthearted and fun but with a pinch of heartbreak, the perfect recipe for a 5 star book 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Cancer, Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Homophobia

Minor: Alcohol

robin_reads's review against another edition

emotional lighthearted slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.0

A coming of age/teen story about two boys with feelings for each other figuring out the world and their place and feelings in it.

This was cute. It dealt with "the usual" teenage feelings and drama, plus an added element of the main character's aunt being terminally ill with cancer. 
The audiobook was nice, even if it annoyed when they vocalized "argh" and "ugh" in a very weird way. That's just me tho. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Medical content, Death, Terminal illness, and Homophobia

Moderate: Outing

Minor: Body shaming

readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition

funny lighthearted 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Death of parent, Outing, Infidelity, Death, Bullying, Sexism, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

Minor: Cancer

theespressoedition's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted 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

3.5

When I was writing my mini review for my Instagram stories, I said "imagine if Grease was gay. That would be this book." I'm sticking with that description because it feels the most accurate to me.

Only Mostly Devastated surprised me in a lot of good ways. It kept my interest much more than most young adult romances - and actually, I wouldn't even necessarily describe it as a romance. Yes, there was young love in it, but the focus was much more on the characters themselves and how they developed and grew together and individually.

There was a found family element to this that was so entertaining. It was the most chaotic, disruptive, and sometimes stressful family, but I enjoyed reading about each of them and seeing how they changed as the story went on. The support that was a running theme throughout the book was really pleasing. I like when characters encourage one another to be themselves. Sure, there was teen drama and plenty of it, but for the most part, the characters did grow and learn from the harm they sometimes caused.

What I did feel was a bit of a disconnect. This is primarily just because I'm an adult reading a young adult book and I recognize that's a very normal thing. I'm not reading this to feel connection to the characters. I liked them, but I don't think I'll be revisiting the book. However, I do plan to read some of the author's other works because I liked the style of writing and the story itself.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Outing, Biphobia, Homophobia, and Fatphobia

Minor: Sexual content and Chronic illness

deadgirlwalking23's review against another edition

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Animal death, and Homophobia

Moderate: Fatphobia, Grief, and Biphobia

a_sleepy_berry's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny reflective sad fast-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Death, Homophobia, Body shaming, Cancer, Grief, and Fatphobia

Moderate: Eating disorder and Outing