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kshertz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexism, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
alouette'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
At our best, we only see a glimpse of the universal gearwork, and even then, we don't understand what we see. Some people find that demoralizing- but to me it's comforting. Because if all of existence was something a human mind could comprehend, what a sad, pathetic universe this would be.
as a queer, afab, person of colour (who can't do sports!), i'm basically everything that Ash is not. so none of the revelations he faced in the course of this novel were particularly eye-opening to me. however, i think the idea was important, and Neal Shusterman's writing style is very easy to read- it flows very, very well. the absurdist magical realism and brain-boggling descriptions were so fun and enjoyable; i loved the twists that it took, especially near the start when all we knew of what was going to happen was "blue stop signs"! a lot of the dialogue made me laugh, as well, and a lot of other lines were just good phrasing of what's happening in the world right now. overall, this wasn't some life-changing book for me, but a read that made me happy anyways because of its accessibility and good intentions.
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Police brutality and Violence
mira123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Outing, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, and Toxic relationship
elna17a9a's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
And I'm... disappointed. Let down. I know Shusterman was very earnest about the issues he explores in the book (racism, sexism, homophobia, abusive relationships...I'm sure there's more I missed) and he tries to take as much time as he can (as many times as he can) to have Ash say that he's not the center of the narrative and how he can't understand because he's not been there, it's just all too much, and badly packaged.
I don't need Ash giving me foreshadowing every second sentence, I don't need constant "but how wrong I would be" asides, and I definitely don't need another white man going on a soul journey to finally realize how bad other people have it and decide to do something about it. The whole tone was so meta and flippant that it detracted from the seriousness of events. Something about the writing was cringe and dated and felt like it was trying too hard to be "young".
I appreciate the Shusterman has a lot of strong opinions about these issues, and that he has Ash say many (many many) times that he was ignorant and that ignoring the issues is the same as perpetuating them, but he needed an editor. He tries to address so much in this book, but a) he can't do it all with the same quality which leads to b)
At a certain point, it's almost offensive - but I can see the audience for this. There are young white boys out there who don't pay attention to issues of race or gender and think that willful ignorance makes them good people. This book might be the one to open their eyes.
Not that I'm necessarily praising it. There's a lot of things that rubbed me the wrong way (
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
kbergsten'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
5.0
Graphic: Car accident, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Hate crime, Homophobia, Toxic relationship, Slavery, Sexism, Racial slurs, Racism, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Misogyny, and Medical content
sarahkv'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
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic relationship
leahjanespeare's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Neal Shusterman delivers once again!
Minor: Homophobia and Racism
emeraldelephant'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, Homophobia, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Hate crime
betweentheshelves'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
3.5
By the end of the book, I'd say this felt a little like Every Day by David Levithan. Ash's identity changes a few times throughout, and it's unclear exactly where he ends up at the end. Given the pacing of the second half of this book, I think I would definitely read a second book set in this world.
Overall, despite the bumpy start, Shusterman leaves readers thinking by the end of this alternate universe adventure.
This had a bit of a bumpy start for me, but it picked up about halfway through. More to come in a full review tomorrow!
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Sexism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Minor: Drug use