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pam_simpson06's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Child abuse, and Excrement
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Animal death, Ableism, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent, Police brutality, Abandonment, Mental illness, and Dementia
paigerini'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
My MAJOR gripe with this novel is how Christopher is portrayed. I understand that he is (implied) on the autism spectrum, but his combination of traits/characteristics seemed almost too stereotypical that I was pulled out of the story. I did some research, and the author only used anecdotal evidence for Christopher's character and did no research on autism itself. I feel like the author wrote this book in a way to make the audience pity the people in Christopher's life, even though they do not have any idea how to interact with him properly. As a neurodivergent person, I cringed at how some sections vilified Christopher for things he has a hard time controlling. I understand that is part of the conflict and plot of the book, but I feel that the autism representation could've been handled better.
When it comes to the story, however, it was decent. The plot was compelling enough for me to fly through the latter half. Overall, an okay read.
Moderate: Child abuse and Animal cruelty
Minor: Vomit
vanessatombolini's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal death, Vomit, and Excrement
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Gore, Alcohol, Cursing, Ableism, Grief, and Infidelity
Minor: Mental illness, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Classism, Police brutality, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Violence, Toxic relationship, and Terminal illness
cringletimagi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Ableism, Vomit, and Death
another_dahlia'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Physical abuse, Ableism, Police brutality, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Child abuse
Moderate: Bullying and Infidelity
Minor: Vomit
lillelow'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
If you have no experience with autism and would like an insight into what that might look like (which I think everyone should) this will probably be a very eye-opening book and I’d absolutely recommend it. But if you’re already familiar with autism, I guess it doesn’t make that much of an impact - hence why I don’t find it as mind-blowing to read now as when I was younger and probably didn’t know as much. The story in itself is actually quite tragic and other than the plot twist, it’s all rather predictable - so the score ends up somewhere in the middle for me.
Graphic: Animal death
Moderate: Terminal illness, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Vomit, Ableism, Confinement, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Cursing, Violence, and Toxic relationship
reddeddy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Cursing, Eating disorder, Excrement, Abandonment, Vomit, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Child abuse, Animal death, Toxic relationship, and Ableism
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Drug use, Xenophobia, Murder, Confinement, Grief, Religious bigotry, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Infidelity, and Sexual content
Minor: Addiction, Injury/Injury detail, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Kidnapping, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Dementia, Self harm, and Police brutality
paperquilt'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
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Gaslighting, Ableism, Excrement, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Vomit
Moderate: Child abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Infidelity
lasivaranasi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Geschichte in sich: alle anderen Charaktere konnte ich zwar in ihren Handlungen nachvollziehen, sie haben mich aber sauer gemacht und ich konnte sie schlicht weg nicht leiden
Und alles in allem:
fand ich hatte das Buch leider seine Längen weshalb ich lange gebraucht hab, um durch das Buch zu kommen.
Da die Idee hinter dem Buch jedoch sehr gelungen ist, kann und möchte ich es nicht schlecht bewerten :)
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Mental illness, Child abuse, and Murder
Minor: Drug abuse and Panic attacks/disorders
Die Warnungen, die ich angegeben habe sind alle im Buch enthalten, jedoch durch den Schreibstil sehr milde gehalten, weshalb ich die meisten Dinge gut aushalten konnte, auch wenn ich ein persönliches Thema mit ihnen hatte. Dies Variiert natürlich danach, wie starke Triggerpunkte diese Themen für dich sind! Das Thema vor dem ich am meisten warnen würde sind:chelseasofia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
But besides that, the book was just as brilliant, funny, and heartbreaking as ever. I don’t know whether this is a realistic representation of autism or being on the spectrum in general, so I’ve left that to the side. However, I realized this time around how much I resonated emotionally and in some ways mentally with the main character Christopher. Like how he likes some colors and detests others, and uses these markers or rules to order his world. I did that when I was little too, just like having food preferences, as a way to feel some sense of control in the world and what happened to me. These things make sense to me and I still have certain preferences that might seem eccentric or ridiculous to most people, but it’s brilliant to read the perspective of a character who makes sense of the world this way and to feel seen a little. In this way, I think the book does speak broadly to neurodivergence in general.
I also just resonated emotionally in the way of how as children sometimes we just can’t understand how or why adults do the things they do. And the adults that bother to meet you where you are, are like gold. This book has me thinking a lot about how we’re all trying our best, and sometimes even our best can still hurt the people we love. Or, rather, the people tasked to care for us can really truly love us and still make terrible mistakes. Not that that excuses their behavior, it just shows how messy life really is.
My heart was with this character from the get-go and I was rooting for him all through. This one will stick with me for awhile.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Panic attacks/disorders, and Animal death
Moderate: Infidelity, Ableism, and Child abuse
Minor: Vomit and Excrement