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bbonaguro's review
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.0
this book tore my heart to pieces and mostly put it back together. such a good read but neeeeed to be in a good place mentally to read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Grief, Mental illness, and Death of parent
a_sleepy_berry's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Abandonment, and Death
Moderate: Religious bigotry and Blood
renlikestoread's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Take a drink every time you read the word “bowls” ;) JK, I do NOT recommend that!!
The tone of this book is slow, dark, and heavy, so initially I found it hard to get into. This is a book about grief, loss, and isolation, and the author did a great job of conveying those feelings. She also accurately portrays the messiness of Marin’s life following her traumatic experiences, but because of that, the book gets confusing at parts and at other times nothing happens. Overall, the characters and their feelings are well written, but sometimes the story gets lost.
The tone of this book is slow, dark, and heavy, so initially I found it hard to get into. This is a book about grief, loss, and isolation, and the author did a great job of conveying those feelings. She also accurately portrays the messiness of Marin’s life following her traumatic experiences, but because of that, the book gets confusing at parts and at other times nothing happens. Overall, the characters and their feelings are well written, but sometimes the story gets lost.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Abandonment, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Cancer
jacinderr's review
emotional
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? It's complicated
5.0
I’m still reeling over this. Understated in its melancholy. Captures the entanglement of sweet summer love and the hollowing of the soul in the wake of grief. The sad gay girls take another win 😔🫡
No But fr Nina are you good ??!!? Get some help
No But fr Nina are you good ??!!? Get some help
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, and Death of parent
saoreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
To begin, there were numerous scenes in the story that were difficult to understand in terms of family dynamics. The character learned what family is supposed to be like through self-preservation and keeping each other's space and boundaries private, which created a certain mindset on how to perceive things in processing grief and loneliness, understanding love and pushing it away. The novel followed certain days for the book period to end for a short time. It made you consider your interpersonal relationships. We never really thought better as children—typical of us—still there's so much more to know than just our own little world.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Mental illness, Abandonment, Death, Terminal illness, and Suicide
alisonfaith426's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Blood, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcohol and Alcoholism
mellowreading's review
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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
4.75
WHEW. I almost want to rate this a 5 star, because I feel like if I had read it at a better time, I would have loved it even more. this book captures the feeling of isolation and loneliness so acutely, especially in its descriptions of setting, that some of that feeling bled into me too. This book feels like shades of blue. I teared up a couple times. It felt very real and very cinematic at the same time. I was also really shocked at how things unfolded, I felt betrayed right alongside Marin. Lacour’s writing is also so lovely, there’s not a word wasted.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, and Abandonment
winterdevil's review
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Doesn't really a plot, but it was short (230 pages) so I read in two evenings. A lot of things were left dangling or undefined, the prose wasn't anything special, the characters were rather limited, but it ends on a hopeful note, and I can't really blame a depressed narrator for being monotonous.
I saw a review that said this book is very much a "character-driven" book as opposed to plot-driven, and to that, I have to disagree. Plot-driven books are books with an external plot that pushes characters into doing something (such as a zombie apocalypse forcing people to survive), and character-driven books are characters making choices that inspire the plot.
This book is neither. The character drives nothing.
This book is neither. The character drives nothing.
Not necessarily a bad thing, but if you go into this expecting an active protagonist with agency... she's literally depressed, barely showers, and avoids her friend and conversation for most of it. Only at about 75% do we see any meaningful action on her part, though the story kinda undercuts why it took her so long to get there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Death, Abandonment, Cancer, Terminal illness, Suicide, and Mental illness
shfts_away's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
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
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Death
zaraha's review
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, Death, Mental illness, and Abandonment
Moderate: Cancer