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seforana's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Suicide, and Racism
bites_of_books's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
The mystery itself is quite interesting but I couldn't help but be distracted by the confusing writing and the racist and ableist language used.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Medical content, Alcoholism, Ableism, Murder, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Racism, Suicide, Bullying, Chronic illness, Grief, and Sexism
the_cat_on_a_bookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Minor: Xenophobia, Racial slurs, Death, Ableism, and Murder
m_parker9612's review against another edition
funny
mysterious
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Car accident, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Murder, Death, and Alcoholism
cristine's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
4.5
Really enjoyed this and read it at a time I needed a good mystery and quick read. The character development was solid and I loved that the end of the book provided a look at the characters’ lives in the future.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Torture, Death, Ableism, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Racial slurs, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, and Chronic illness
chrisljm's review against another edition
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The premise sounded so intriguing to me at first, but I ended up not being invested in the story at all. I found it to have not enough story and the mystery a bit convoluted to follow along.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Sexism, and Murder
Minor: Violence, Ableism, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Medical content, and Self harm
kstericker's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Minor: Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Racism, and Ableism
summerif's review against another edition
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
rey_reads's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Despite being a children's book, this is much better written than most YA fiction currently on the market. Quite fast paced and an easy read, so was good to get me out of a reading slump.
There's a lot of characters, but I felt they were all reasonably well developed - mostly focusing on the viewpoint of certain characters helped. I ended up so attached to them that the ending made me quite sad, which was particularly impressive as this book is only about 200 pages long.
The plot was very clever; I was able to figure out some elements before they were revealed, but there were enough twists that I remained invested until the end. I don't think I would've been able to predict the final plot twist, but it did make me re-evaluate the way I'd viewed certain characters throughout the book; I think the reader is successfully mislead in places.
Definitely an enjoyable read.
There's a lot of characters, but I felt they were all reasonably well developed - mostly focusing on the viewpoint of certain characters helped. I ended up so attached to them that the ending made me quite sad, which was particularly impressive as this book is only about 200 pages long.
The plot was very clever; I was able to figure out some elements before they were revealed, but there were enough twists that I remained invested until the end. I don't think I would've been able to predict the final plot twist, but it did make me re-evaluate the way I'd viewed certain characters throughout the book; I think the reader is successfully mislead in places.
Definitely an enjoyable read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Misogyny, and Xenophobia
Minor: Suicide and Alcoholism
readerette's review against another edition
funny
lighthearted
mysterious
fast-paced
- 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
I read this book when I was a kid, and when I saw it on a "recommended reads" list the other day, I couldn't resist. I don't remember much about the first time I read it (other than liking it), but I enjoyed it this time.
It's clever and the characters end up with a decent amount of depth for such a short story. I did figure out the mystery before the reveal, but that didn't detract from the fun of the book for me.
I was watching closely the actions toward the characters of color and characters with disabilities, but as far as I could tell, any racist/ableist remarks were discernible as such (as in, they showed that some of the white characters were racist, and others were ableist, which was the author's point with those characters). The r-word is used a few times.
I did find the whole setup just a little ridiculous, which is where my reduced rating comes from. There really did seem to be some intent to punish with the "game" that Westing created, and when I found out the initial intended victim of the punishment, I got confused because other context suggested they didn't deserve to be punished at all (including my understanding that Westing wouldn't have thought so either). Maybe I just missed something...
Definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys relatively lighthearted mysteries where you slowly put together the clues with the characters.
It's clever and the characters end up with a decent amount of depth for such a short story. I did figure out the mystery before the reveal, but that didn't detract from the fun of the book for me.
I was watching closely the actions toward the characters of color and characters with disabilities, but as far as I could tell, any racist/ableist remarks were discernible as such (as in, they showed that some of the white characters were racist, and others were ableist, which was the author's point with those characters). The r-word is used a few times.
I did find the whole setup just a little ridiculous, which is where my reduced rating comes from. There really did seem to be some intent to punish with the "game" that Westing created, and when I found out the initial intended victim of the punishment, I got confused because other context suggested they didn't deserve to be punished at all (including my understanding that Westing wouldn't have thought so either). Maybe I just missed something...
Definitely worth a read for anyone who enjoys relatively lighthearted mysteries where you slowly put together the clues with the characters.
Content Warnings
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Ableism, Alcohol, Death, and Racism