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rebekkamafia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Classism, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Incest, Addiction, Blood, Homophobia, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Vomit, Murder, Suicide, Gun violence, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Racism, Antisemitism, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Rape, Suicide attempt, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Suicidal thoughts
marleysclassics's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Because, though it might seem strange, in my opinion one of the best parts of this book was the developments of the characters in terms of likability. I liked all of them as I didn‘t know them at all and with every page I read I began to detest every one of them a little more. While I wouldn‘t call every single person of in this book a bad person, some certainly are. And I was so here for it, because it felt like hating them more meant understanding them more.
If you want to read this book because of the vibes - definitely. They‘re there, yet I wouldn‘t expect too much of the academia and a little more of the dark aspect. Not to say that academia isn‘t a reoccurring theme, because it is, but there really aren‘t that many lessons or anything. It‘s more about the whole setting, and the motives of the characters yet in a more abstract way.
I also loved the writing, because it is beautiful and meaningful and often SO pretentious - and it knows it is and it‘s okay because it romanticises and critiques its own style and contents at the same time. (I actually think that‘s the essence of the whole dark academia genre.) I flew through the pages, and especially the first part of the novel was SO addictive. You know what‘s going to happen from page one and still you become more interested with every page. And sometimes you can‘t even tell what draws you too the pages, yet there is something. Unfortunately, this lacked a bit in the second half. Especially towards the end, there were some parts which really grabbed me, but there were also long passages which I wasn‘t interested in. At some point, this narrative just turns into a fever dream/nightmare/sequence of drug abuse, and partly this became a tiring. But also not entirely.
In the end, I‘m pretty sure I‘ll have to read this again.
P.S.: I never answered the question „Are the flaws of the main character(s) a main focus of the book?“ more confidently.
And now I‘ll put this book in my shelf right next to The Picture of Dorian Gray
Graphic: Murder, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Mental illness
Moderate: Gun violence, Hate crime, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism, Blood, Car accident, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Animal death, Homophobia, Islamophobia, and Racism
justaddwater's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Incest, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Addiction, Alcohol, Classism, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Violence, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual harassment, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Blood, Body horror, Sexual content, and Torture
startjpw23'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Addiction, Blood, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Death, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Incest
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Animal death
Minor: Infidelity
pbeeandj'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Incest, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Murder, Classism, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Suicide, Islamophobia, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Antisemitism, Vomit, Rape, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, and Sexism
colittle'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
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Classism, Gaslighting, Murder, Alcoholism, Death, Drug use, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Blood, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body shaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexism, Islamophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Racial slurs, Grief, Gun violence, Infidelity, Outing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Incest
takarakei'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
3.25
I definitely feel like it could have ~100 pages of monotony edited out, or those parts should have been replaced by more time with Julian in the classroom / explaining the catalyst of what they were studying influencing the original group (and why they were in the woods...)
I found it interesting to think about the moral quandary of Bunny being a supremely unlikeable character and how we as readers can empathize with the desire to get rid of him from the other character's POV. All the characters are disastrously flawed and the only one I actually feel bad for in the end is Camilla. If you can stand to read about pretentious flawed horrible characters who are continually awful to each other then I guess it's an interesting character study book.
Graphic: Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Murder
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Grief, Drug use, Misogyny, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Incest, and Racism
Minor: Religious bigotry, Animal death, Racial slurs, and Rape
bea2001'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
4.5
Graphic: Grief, Death, Murder, Classism, and Drug use
Moderate: Animal death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Incest, Physical abuse, Suicide, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Toxic friendship, and Addiction
Minor: Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, and Rape
readingbrb's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Incest, Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Misogyny and Mental illness
mariavdl'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
Graphic: Murder, Animal cruelty, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Bullying, Suicide, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Gun violence, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Incest and Homophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexism