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natalienance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Suicide, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, and Car accident
stutzmaa14's review against another edition
4.0
Moderate: Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
nataliegray'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: Death, Gun violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Car accident, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Vomit, and Grief
avalete's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.25
I also don’t agree with the author’s views and wasn’t aware of them until I finished the book. I regret reading this book for so many reasons. I wish I could give it an even lower rating.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
lordcafeine'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexism, and Vomit
Minor: Terminal illness
lily1304'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: Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, and Cultural appropriation
squidface'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
Don't get me wrong, I absolutely adored this book, flaws and all (which is definitely one of the themes of the book - loving someone wholly despite their flaws and your flaws). I loved the literary references, the use of Shakespeare and Emily Dickinson, and thought it was interesting that those things fell away as the characters got older - but yet it was sort of a turning plot point in the later third of the book to bring Macbeth back in so the characters could emotionally connect again (sorry if this doesn't make much sense, I'm trying to keep the review as spoiler free as possible).
I felt, as others have pointed out, that Zevin was using some kind of word of the day thing and tried to shoehorn in as many random words as possible. Tuberose was overused as an adjective. She misused the word tautology (who proofed this?).
I disagree with whoever said she clearly doesn't understand music - those observations about Miles Davis et al in the book are made from a character point of view and definitely aren't the views of the author.
Although I did at times find the characters to be thinly veiled versions of parts of Zevin, for the most part they're adorkable.
Despite the flaws, I think Zevin is an amazing and accomplished writer. And this book is definitely worth a read.
For me it actually could have gone into more elaboration about the games world itself and the business side of it, but I suppose in the end the book focused on relationships between people, and that's what mattered more, because it played to it's strengths.
Minor: Ableism, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
nbakken's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Suicide
Moderate: Chronic illness, Drug use, Gun violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Vomit, Abortion, and Death of parent
fi_sandison'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: Chronic illness, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
intrepid_bibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Classism