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tbd24's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal death, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Infidelity, Death, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Racism, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Drug use, Sexism, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Homophobia, Excrement, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Pedophilia, Child death, Ableism, Suicide, Misogyny, Cursing, and Violence
_nem_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
It definitely reminded me of Narnia when talking about Filory especially with the books but then discovering a dark side. There were lots of very odd scenes but overall it had me hooked. I would say there are a lot of points where the plot does seem to grind to a halt and it seems like the book could end there.
Graphic: Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Blood
lms33's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Pedophilia
meg_thebrave'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Gore and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Ableism, Death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, and Pedophilia
kyriross's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The issue is primarily with the pacing. The rapid shifts between chapter-long detail of one event and single-sentence passage of time tends to give a reader whiplash. There also just wasn't enough- of Brakebills or
The characters are also extremely non-diverse, and uniformly unlikeable. It would have been nice to have at least one character who isn't deeply unlikable.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Drug use, Pedophilia, and Drug abuse
sarah2438's review against another edition
1.0
**Spoilers**
If I wasn't reading this to impress the guy I'm seeing, I would've DNF'd on page 11 when Quentin says "Unpretty women were so much easier to deal with in some ways-- you didn't have to face the pain of their probable unattainability." (For context: he literally just met this paramedic, who is currently working over a corpse.) Quentin is an insufferable misogynist that gives strong incel-vibes. (His hide-a-coin type magic tricks at the beginning did NOT help that image and honestly made me cringe.) All of his thoughts about women are how attractive they are and how they can serve his own needs, whether that's stroking his ego or being a sexual object. It was honestly disgusting and never seemed to improve. When he wasn't around women, Quentin did have funny moments-- I like a sarcastic douche. But he also spent most of the pitying himself, which got tiring. And yeah, he was obviously struggling with things, like disillusionment, depression, and lacking a sense of purpose. But none of those are valid excuses to cheat on your girlfriend with a threesome, and then have the nerve to be upset with her when she dumps your ass and sleeps with someone else. And when you play a stupid prank that results in major trauma to everyone in the school and the murder of a classmate, just own up to it, and don't move on after a week. God I just really hate this man and did not see any redeeming qualities in him.
Might still read the next book if this guy will let me near it after seeing my thoughts on the first one.
**Edit: He dumped me so I'm lowering my review from 2.5 to 1 star cause let's be honest, that's what it deserves. Don't curve your book review for a man, if he's recommending a bad book then take that as the red flag that it is.
Graphic: Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
glowbruise's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, and Body shaming
multiple uses of the r word, fatphovia directed at a specific character, women often described by their attractiveness/ particular mention of their chestlaurenleigh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Alcohol, and Blood
Moderate: Fatphobia, Sexual content, Sexism, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism and Sexism
lauralintunen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Violence, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Ableism, Cannibalism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Cursing, and Sexual content
Minor: Body shaming, Child abuse, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Incest, and Animal cruelty
suzanlemont's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
3.25
Graphic: Alcohol and Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, and Violence