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chronicloser's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, and Pregnancy
lorenag5'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: Abortion, Medical content, Terminal illness, Pregnancy, Chronic illness, Death, Grief, Alcoholism, Child death, and Alcohol
breauseph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Police brutality, Child death, Misogyny, Sexism, Death, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, and Xenophobia
From my perspective, this book does a good job of celebrating disability and difference. There is a key character with a serious genetic disorder who is cherished, admired, loved, and encouraged for exactly who she is.withlivjones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I thought that the writing was very clever: the whole thing is structured in small, Tweet-like sections of prose in reference to the theory that humans’ attention spans are getting shorter because of social media; the tone of the narration is littered with dark humour because many people nowadays use humour to cope with how awful life is; and the book perfectly captures the internet culture of the late 2010s - the period between the 2016 election and the pandemic when we all thought life couldn’t get any worse! - and yet at the same time there are so many absolutely beautiful lines, and you can easily tell that this is a book that was crafted with love.
I’m sure that a lot of the references will go over the heads of those lucky enough to not be chronically online, and it’s so much a product of its time that it will become outdated in a decade or so, but I honestly wouldn’t be surprised if this book gets taught to the literature classes of the far future to get a good idea of the cultural zeitgeist of the Trump era, and those future children will stare at words like “binch” and “sneazing” with the same level of bewilderment as our parents, and the cycle will continue.
Graphic: Pregnancy, Grief, Child death, and Medical content
Moderate: Abortion and Religious bigotry
matcha_pages'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
3.0
The first half was tougher to get through, it was hit or miss with it's satirical musings on social media (the Portal), politics, and our generation's views. The second half of the book was really moving and humanizing. We switch gears to a more cohesive story, which is much more my speed.
When you stand back and look at the two writing styles it makes sense - the first half is filled with nonsensical, comment style observations (like posting in the Portal), while the second half fills the pages with emotions and images (like reality). Not my favorite book, but I appreciate the artistic style.
Graphic: Child death and Terminal illness
Moderate: Grief
aliyachaudhry's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Medical content, Death, Pregnancy, Abortion, Cursing, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, Sexual content, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Racism, Mass/school shootings, and Ableism
marsspider42's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Pregnancy
lynxpardinus's review against another edition
1.0
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, Medical content, Sexual content, Child death, Pregnancy, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Confinement, Incest, War, Abortion, Addiction, Mass/school shootings, Cultural appropriation, and Vomit
bariqhonium's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, and Child death
Moderate: Abortion
sundaybookclub's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Moderate: Medical content, Abortion, Pregnancy, Grief, and Child death