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bookwormbi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Honestly, this book had way, way, WAY too many characters, and it really pulled focus from the main 4. Chloe did not need three best friends, two of whom had ZERO impact on the main plot. Like honestly maybe 50% of the characters in this book could have been cut with no impact to the story that was actually told. This book could have been Chloe, Shara, Rory, Smith, Georgia, Chloe's moms as extremely minor characters, and Principal Wheeler as the antagonist and the story would have been a LOT tighter. I would have loved for Georgia to have more depth in the story, and I would have loved to have been able to tell Chloe's moms apart before the very very end.
Also, Casey McQuiston has a POV problem. In both OLS and this book, you get very very interesting stories about poc filtered through these random white people who are, let's be honest, much less interesting (I liked Chloe better than I liked August but she still never felt like the main event to me.) In this book the more interesting story was
I want McQuiston to grow as an artist and find a foothold in the publishing industry besides their one phenom book. I really, really do. There are such good ideas in this book--with a little reworking and reframing, this could have easily been a 5 star for me. I really appreciated the way McQuiston juxtaposed the protagonist's background with the setting of the novel and I loved how that was resolved. To be perfectly honest, as someone from California, this book gave me a new appreciation for queer Southerners, and I hope that queer Southern teens feel represented by this book. However, while I enjoyed this book, it just isn't something I could get excited about.
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Racism and Transphobia
vaguely_pink'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
4.25
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Racism, Outing, and Dysphoria
Minor: Ableism, Bullying, Transphobia, and Alcohol
elia_elizabeth_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Lesbophobia, and Outing
lilacsuns's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Racism, and Transphobia
isabelfaith'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
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Transphobia
rileymc_queen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Bullying and Emotional abuse
sarahchemp'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
4.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry
Moderate: Homophobia and Transphobia
leahb88'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
3.75
Graphic: Homophobia and Transphobia
jjjreads'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
4.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Racism and Dysphoria
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Classism
foldingthepage_kayleigh'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Gaslighting