Scan barcode
acepersephone'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
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Racism and Body shaming
emordnilap's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
must read for teenagers
we don’t know our history the way we think we do
i fucking love epilogues and i love writing them
Graphic: Death, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death of parent
kevub'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: Xenophobia, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Death, and Bullying
Moderate: Racism and Fatphobia
kaitlinlovesbooks'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
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Xenophobia
theboywithallthekeys's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness and Homophobia
Moderate: Racism
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Alcohol and Death of parent
jmross10'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Blood, Body horror, Death, Homophobia, and Bullying
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, Islamophobia, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Deadnaming
just_one_more_paige'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Religious bigotry, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Sexual content
menomica's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
There are so many aspects of Reza’s life that were mentioned but never really developed.
Speaking of which; Art very much was the weakest link. As a character… I just don’t care for rich white men. As a boyfriend?? Very gross how he did not respect Reza’s not wanting to have sex. I know he said he was willing to wait, and for his part his did, but you do not need to bring it up all the time! He is clearly not ready, respect that! Yeah, his chapters were the weakest, queer activism aside.
All in all, this book was kind of meh. Definitely had potential but just kind of fumbled the ball
Moderate: Homophobia and Terminal illness
Minor: Fatphobia, Medical content, and Toxic friendship
greenie_'s review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Some of the storylines also felt overly cliche:
Spoiler 1. The "love triangle" between Judy, closeted Reza and Art was kinda overdone. I could see it coming from a mile away and was dreading it. It wasn't satisfying. I'm frankly tired of people blowing up friendships over love triangles in every single story and Iwish there'd been more nuance and creativity to it.
2. Stephen's death. We all knew it was coming, but it was such a typical "death of the mentor father figure" situation. Why not have the nice person with a horrible disease live for once?
3. Art leaving Reza. Not only was this disappointing from an "obligatory tragic layering to YA novel ending" sense but it was also a really unsatisfying way to end Art's development. Judy and Reza significantly changed as people, but Art never does. He begins angry and impulsive and ends in a similar way. We never know what becomes of him except for vague hints. He ends up feeling like more of a means for Reza to change than as a person on his own. Perhaps his idealism could've been tempered by cynical realism, and he'd have been willing to take advantage of his parents' college money to enact change from within the system. As much as I loved this story I was disappointed by Art's lack of development in the end, because he was my favorite character.
I'm sorry if this slight bit of ranting makes it seem like I didn't enjoy the book, or had serious issues with it. I only complain about it so passionately because I love it so much. It's certainly one of my favorite books that I have ever read, one of the most powerful.
Moderate: Death, Homophobia, and Terminal illness
Minor: Fatphobia and Death of parent