Reviews

Flowers for Algernon by Daniel Keyes

danialmaguer's review against another edition

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dark sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

afaber's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad

3.75

jess_mango's review against another edition

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4.0

Another one that I read back in high school.

intro_03's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

It was heartwrenching.

kbebo's review against another edition

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reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

lindsayaunderwood's review against another edition

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5.0

I finished this book in a day. It was fascinating and I had to see what happened. So many emotions experienced in the one day of reading this book.

danjewett's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

filzan's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

it was quite a journey to read about charlie's progress
and regress
throughout the book. right off the bat, he was a likable character from the start. i found myself rooting for him from his first journal entry. 

it got heartbreaking at some point to read his memory of the past (that he previously forgot) and how he was perceiving this memory. but it was not hard to then also empathize with the characters from his past because reading it from his point of view, we could see that charlie himself had empathized with them. even more when we got more to learn about those characters later in the book.

though what happened charlie was tragic, this book cast a hope in my heart, once again because of how charlie was ending his reports. he's such a lovable character. 

i liked the writing style, including the uncertainty of some things in charlie's part. it made sense since this was written from his point of view, leaving enough room for me as a reader to also accept how blurry one's memories can be. i read this quite fast and was more invested compared to my other readings. maybe my background in psychology played in part here too, since the characters' experience felt closer to me and what i learned in school. might say this is one of my favorite books now!

abigailcooper's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced
  • 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

5.0

it was long and got a bit slow at some points, but one thing i’m sure about is that this book hurts

neilmartin's review against another edition

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5.0

Great read following Charlie Gordon's life and the challenges he faces being a handicapped man working in a bakery to being a multilingual polymath, surpassing his colleagues and academic tutors. The regression he was going through after Algernon died was heartbreaking. He was understanding and falling in love with his former teacher who also felt the same, but he didn't want to let anyone see him regress back into the Charlie Gordon they originally knew.

This book was a real roller coaster of events, emotion and opinions. I'd recommend it to anyone.

Merged review:

Great read following Charlie Gordon's life and the challenges he faces being a handicapped man working in a bakery to being a multilingual polymath, surpassing his colleagues and academic tutors. The regression he was going through after Algernon died was heartbreaking. He was understanding and falling in love with his former teacher who also felt the same, but he didn't want to let anyone see him regress back into the Charlie Gordon they originally knew.

This book was a real roller coaster of events, emotion and opinions. I'd recommend it to anyone.