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rebeccadiv'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, Grief, and Animal death
Moderate: Child death, Mental illness, Murder, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
fishfish's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, and Death
Minor: Abandonment and Car accident
kananineko'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Abandonment, Suicide, Animal death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Sexual content
lizzyelrick'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Abandonment, and Suicidal thoughts
kathleenivy's review
- 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
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Death, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Animal death, Body horror, Car accident, Abandonment, Child death, Sexual content, Confinement, Death of parent, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment
erebus53'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? Yes
4.0
What happens when an utter jerk falls down dead and nobody cares? It sounds like the setup for an off-colour joke but that is the basic premise of this book. This is a redemption story that I haven't seen the like of since, The Good Place. It's not quite as funny, but definitely moving in places.
This story had me in tears from about chapter 17. In some ways I felt a bit like I was being played. There were corny asides and comedic beats (because who doesn't love an irreverent ghost dog that ghost-pees on oblivious mean people)
interwoven with the hard sob-stories, passionate regrets, rage, and loss, and failure, and grief. It felt like these hard emotions were all pulled out into the light like boxes of old photos long hidden under the bed. *cough*crying? not me.. NO... just allergic to uhm, dust *sniffle*
The characters in the story are of diverse ethnicity, and that's a Thing.. it does affect their lives, but is not the hook of who they are, so I think that was quite considerately managed. They are also of diverse ages, and that makes things a little more interesting. There is a definite LGBT thing that, from looking at comments from other readers, is not picked up by many readers until later in the plot. Although it's cute (and Narrator, Kirt Graves, makes the tea-shop owner, Hugo sound like a Black Keanu Reeves) it feels like some of the character development and friendship-building is a little hurried along. I felt like the man we meet at the start of the book is unredeemable, and yet Klune metaphorically scales a seemingly insurmountable wall, attempting to do just that. This is a story that tells of a world where God, as humans conceive of it, is not an accurate depiction of how the universe runs, but there are "powers that be".
This story has an author's content warning on the start of the book. It does deal with death, and suicide, and a bunch of really hard topics. That makes it feel like a bit of a therapy piece (the line "you're not my Therapist!" comes up a few times). It's a fun book if you feel like you can wade into some really emotional topics, and have a spare box of tissues handy.
Graphic: Death of parent, Terminal illness, Suicide, Cancer, Chronic illness, Abandonment, Violence, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Death, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Confinement
Minor: Cannibalism, Infidelity, and Sexual content
carolined314's review
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Mental illness, Death of parent, Animal death, and Violence
Minor: Suicide
augustar14's review
- 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
A beautifully written story about life, but particularly what comes after. How we cope with the impact our lives had on others, and how grief impacts each person differently. About letting go, holding on, and the steps in between. You won't love Wallace at first, but by the end I think you might feel differently. I certainly did. And it's probably worth keeping a tissue box nearby.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Cursing, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide, Child death, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and War
diana_raquel'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? Yes
4.75
T.J. Klune is rapidly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved this story! I didn't know what to expect from this story but I wasn't expecting a deep story about life, death, grief, and change. However, at the same time, I should be expecting a deep story. In every book that I have read by this author, there is always some deepness to the story.
The characters are interesting, well-written, and well-developed. I really loved them and the fact that the cast is diverse (with good representation), which is always a good point in my book. However, the only reason that I have for not giving a 5-star rating to this book is that I think that the pacing is a little unbalanced. I think that there are some places in the story where the pacing became faster than it should. But, overall, is a solid narrative.
I strongly recommend this book.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Murder, Child death, Animal death, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Suicide
Minor: Gore, Cursing, Confinement, and Abandonment
elazza3540's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Car accident, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Murder, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, Cancer, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Abandonment, Animal death, and Injury/Injury detail