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jolyn'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: Death, Self harm, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Outing, and Violence
mj_hyperfixation_station'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
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Outing, Alcoholism, Bullying, and Suicide
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Death, Self harm, and Grief
Minor: Toxic friendship, Eating disorder, Car accident, Self harm, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Suicidal thoughts
brandie_abbie19'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: Abandonment, Addiction, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Murder, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Violence, Alcohol, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
oliviapye'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
3.0
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, and Drug use
syd991'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
3.75
Each of the main 4 characters felt like a typical high-schooler cliche, you have the brains, the jock, the criminal, and the popular one. It’s part of the story, but it almost felt superficial for me.
I enjoyed the mystery aspect, although I feel like I could guess at it from the first few chapters. It almost felt too obvious.
I don’t know if I’ll pick up the sequel just yet, but I’m intrigued enough to watch the TV show adaptation. Overall, it was okay, I just didn’t love it.
Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Terminal illness, Transphobia, Self harm, Physical abuse, Outing, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Car accident
daniellearlotta'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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Suicide, Violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Minor: Terminal illness
eleni1201's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Physical abuse
Moderate: Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Murder, Suicide, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Medical content
discountrl'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
4.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Suicide
justmeandmybooks'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
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Bullying
Minor: Car accident and Mass/school shootings
allyhoo811'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
3.0
Overall, I found this to an engaging YA mystery. The characters and their secrets/motives were pretty cliche and easily guessed, but the overall character development (especially with Addy) was wonderful and I would definitely recommend this one to most people. It gave me huge Breakfast Club vibes and I think fans of 80s/90s teen movies would especially enjoy the nostalgia factor even though it has a contemporary setting.
I did not love the ending/epilogue,
My 2 Big Issues (contain major spoilers):
1. Simon killing himself was a really interesting (if somewhat predictable) twist, but the portrayal of Simon as someone suffering from depression was unfortunate. Many people (teens included) suffer from depression, but they don't create elaborate, evil revenge plots to take out everyone who ever looked at them funny. Most people with depression have a hard time getting out of bed. And Simon had been destroying people's lives for years, portraying him as someone who was depressed and felt like an outsider when he was actually probably suffering from some severe personality disorders puts a bad light on depression, especially in a YA book.
2. Jake's character arc. This is a thriller trope I hate, and I hate it even more in a YA mystery. Jake the "perfect" boyfriend with some controlling tendances turns into a psycho killer at the end of the novel. This is just so overdone and not logical. Yes, people who attempt to control their partners are more likely to engage in emotional and physical abuse. But Jake had gone months without the slightest indication that he was escalating after he found out about the cheating (and kept it to himself). His mask didn't even slip once. And by the end we have a crazy action sequence where he is trying to kill two people without any hesitation. It felt forced, and I think Addy's character arc would have been better served without the killer boyfriend trope.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Classism, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Violence, and Sexual content
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Police brutality, Stalking, and Transphobia