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just_me_hunter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
3.0
Minor: Rape, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
anwhitebooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I did feel conflicted about the ending. It gave me food for thought, but I'm not 100% sure if "fourth-wall breaks" are for me.
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Gun violence and Alcoholism
satanita's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Violence and Gun violence
Moderate: Rape
pastelv's review against another edition
3.25
Moderate: Rape and Domestic abuse
miaaa_lenaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
‘He comes a little closer as the sun falls on its hand and knees behind him.’
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
sunflowersarepretty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Death of parent
edie_reads'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
3.25
Moderate: Rape, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
jayda_lily'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
1.0
I have never been so infuriated while reading a book. By the time I was halfway through, there was nothing that could redeem it for me. I despised Ed and take note, if two people ask you if you’re a pervert, you probably are one. I’m all for reading about characters that aren’t perfect and don’t make good life choices, but when you’re met with the internal monologue of Ed, and his sense of entitlement, I can’t imagine having any sympathy for him.
Speaking of Ed’s entitlement, the way he spoke (yeah it was his internal monologue but i’m just gonna refer to it as him speaking) about Audrey, the entire book, made me so angry!!! If you understand why she can’t be with you, and she has told you that she doesn’t want to be with you, then it’s time to move on. No matter how many times Audrey tells him that she doesn’t want to be with him, Ed not only still tries to make moves in her, he feels as though he deserves her, for all the charitable thing he has done (and if you’re wondering, yes ‘charitable’ is dripping with sarcasm). And to make matters worse, they end up together. Look on the one hand, I’m glad that Audrey was able to finally be with someone who she actually likes and cares about, however, her whole subplot of having to work through that was poorly done, and I hate that it was with Ed, after his relentless complaining and whining (internal) about her not wanting to be with him.
I also just found most of the other characters to be poorly developed, and focusing on each of their problems once in the second last part of the book doesn’t make up for that. Everything felt rushed and although Zusak attempted to show Ed having trouble figuring out what to do, it always seemed as though he made it to every conclusion too easily, and in a very unrealistic way. A lot of the plot seemed to be aided by the other ‘messengers’ one might say, jumping in to show him what he needed to do, in the most cryptic way. I also found a lot of the ways he ‘helped’ people to be too small for him to have boosted his ego as much as it did. I completely understand how much a small gesture from a stranger can mean to someone who is struggling, however that should not lead to the entitlement that Ed got from it.
I could go into specific things about each ‘task’ (for lack of a better word) that I didn’t like, and I might some other time, but that would take too long for now.
Ok I lied, this next part is gonna reveal the entire ending:
So, the ending, I hated it.
The final kinda theme or message, also the main one seemingly, is basically wrapped up in this quote:
‘I did it because you are the epitome of ordinariness, Ed.’ He looks at me seriously. ‘And if a guy like you can stand up and do what you did for all those people, we’ll maybe everyone can. Maybe everyone can live beyond what they’re capable of.’ He becomes intense now. Emotional. This is everything. ‘Maybe even I can… ‘
A final note on the book, there are a couple of things throughout the book that are just outdated and unnecessary. The two that come to mind are the speculation of the gender of a player in a football game, which was brought up multiple times, way more than it should’ve (that being zero), and referring to a child whose gender was unknown as ‘it’. Yes the book was written in 2002, but that was not that long ago and these things, although probably more accepted in media (idk I wasn’t born then) can not be excused and just don’t make for a good time when reading. Another thing that just made me deeply uncomfortable, was Ed’s comments on one of the characters that he helps, who is a 15 year old girl, Ed is 19, and he makes both internal comments about how beautiful he finds her and says it to her. There are also two times he is asked by a character if he is a pervert (one of them being Sophie, the 15 year old), and in both situations he denies it. As well as at least three times in his internal monologue where he makes a point to himself, and also the reader I guess, that he is not a pervert. So make of that what you will but as I said earlier, if two people have to ask you, then you probably should do some self evaluation on that.
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape and Transphobia
asmale's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Rape and Domestic abuse
shoohoob's review against another edition
Moderate: Rape and Sexual content