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baratheonbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Abortion and Child death
kirkspockreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, Death, Sexism, Grief, Misogyny, and Child death
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Pregnancy
Minor: Abortion and Gun violence
s__tu's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Ableism
ryncesson'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
Minor: Child death, Abortion, and Pregnancy
bluedilly'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? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
He took only as much as he needed of something, and that was enough.
I read the first half utterly confused. I read the second half uncontrollably crying.
The doors of bland suburban houses now looked possible, outlined, pulsing—for behind any one of them could be hidden a bright and private glory.
Graphic: Death, Child death, Grief, Medical content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abortion and Pregnancy
Minor: Ableism
nreyno'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
4.5
Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy
poppyfitzclark's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Abortion
americattt'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
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Abortion
lisbethssalamander's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
That part of the book didn't show up until much later, and besides the Radiohead mention, I went into completely blind. I'm glad I did now because it made the emotional impact much greater when the book does a 180 degree turn halfway through.
I loved the beginning of the book where the narrator discusses various bits of internet culture, such as the trend a few years ago of saying "ahahaha" instead of "hahaha" and how eating ass came from seemingly nowhere, but maybe it was a ploy by our enemies to distract us and while our guard is down because everyone is busy eating ass, they attack us.
Halfway through the book the narrator's sister finds out she's pregnant and the fetus has a chromosome abnormality that will result in severe disability called Proteus syndrome. The battle for the right for women to choose becomes the main story from this point on. The baby is born and lives a short life and ultimately dies, surrounded by her devastated family.
While the story is fictional, it is based on events that happened in the author's life. Since I went into the story not knowing anything about it, I was blindsided but the rapid change in tone.
I lost a sibling who was a baby when I was a child, and the book became difficult for me to read from this part on. I'm very glad I did, because it's a wonderful book, but it brought back a lot of memories that are hard for me even now, decades later. Remembering sitting in the hospital, the sick feeling when I was told what had happened, and similar to a scene described in the book, I also had a fleeting moment where I believed I would be told that a mistake had been made and we would all sigh with relief over the close call. That didn't happen of course.
Because of this, I related a great deal to the second half of the book. I would be unable to give any kind of objective review of the book because so much of it was so relatable that I really have no idea if other people would like this book or not.
I would recommend it for people who have dealt with grief or loss, of course, and also people interested in internet culture, but I have a feeling some of the ones who come for one of the above might take issue with the other.
Moderate: Abortion
rory_john14'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? It's complicated
2.0
Graphic: Death, Addiction, Sexism, Sexual content, Cursing, Child death, Misogyny, Grief, Medical content, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, Ableism, Child abuse, and Medical trauma
Minor: Rape, Drug use, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Classism, and Infidelity