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josiebug'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Grief, Abandonment, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Bullying, and Mental illness
Moderate: Alcoholism, Mass/school shootings, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, and Gaslighting
sophiemartin'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
Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Homophobia, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
cara_nm'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Outing, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, and Homophobia
kshertz'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
4.5
Minor: Homophobia, Murder, Gaslighting, Bullying, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Abandonment, and Mass/school shootings
elyhaumor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Suicide, and Death
Moderate: Infidelity, Cancer, Car accident, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Homophobia, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Outing
emabelle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Outing and Violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Murder, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Addiction, Mass/school shootings, and Alcohol
dancing_on_ur_muml0l'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Suicide, Outing, and Grief
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity and Cursing
vickeyreads'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? It's complicated
4.75
I loved reading each of the varied perspectives. The beginning reminded me of The Breakfast Club which I enjoyed. As both relate to people from different cliches coming together. That is all I have to say about the book that is spoiler free. If you haven’t read it I 100% recommend that you should read it (even if you do get spoiled but I recommend staying away from spoilers still).
SPOILERS BELOW:
Another criticism I had was Mr. Avery wasn’t questioned enough or suspected enough for Simon’s murder imo. Being the only teacher in the room at the time of Simon’s Death, wouldn’t that make him more suspicious. Though I do not feel as strongly about this criticism.
I will point out another part of the book I did not enjoy was the epilogue because I felt it was very boring and didn’t really add much to the story.
The book is overall very well done and compelling for anyone to read. Those are my thoughts.
Graphic: Child abuse
Moderate: Grief, Outing, Suicide, Alcoholism, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Murder
Minor: Car accident, Infidelity, and Mass/school shootings
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cancer, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence and Mass/school shootings
classicpseudonym'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
3.75
i feel like i was more hooked than i'm willing to admit because this was a typical ya book about high school and murder (except by peanut oil i guess), but i still wanted to read on even though this doesn't exactly align with my book tastes. and the build-up of everything was pretty well executed, so props to mcmanus on a thrilling debut.
on the other hand, i'm looking back immediately after and i feel like i didn't really get anything out of it? if that makes sense. i wasn't a big fan of the hold that romance and relationships had on the plot and the book overall, but that's just how high school is portrayed in general, and i'm not a big romance person so i'm probably just biased. me saying "i didn't get anything out of it" isn't to say that the psychological themes and the perspectives/narration of each of the characters wasn't interesting, but i just feel like i wouldn't want to read this book again. like the case with two can keep a secret (which i don't remember anything about, then again its been years) i don't think i'd remember anything about the book besides the ending (which will haunt me even though i felt it coming) in a few months.
so if you want fast paced, thrilling, and haunting in a ya sort of way read, i'd recommend. there are a lot a lot of trigger warnings though, so i'd recommend that people keep that in mind if they read. if you tend to stay away from ya thriller/mystery books like i do, maybe still give it a read if you're bored because i feel like it's decently well done, but it wasn't my favorite book personally and it might not be yours either. then again, i think it's just because i think too much and i gravitate towards books that are really deep and get my mind all jumbled on the issues of society. but that's a me problem. pretty good book overall though.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, and Self harm
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Outing, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent