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elskabee'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
This is my first time rereading this book in over ten years and I liked it more than I was worried. I can't say it has aged amazingly, but most of the difficult topics (self-harm and depression, age gap crushes) are dealt with in a way that never glamourises or romanticises and even has some good healthy takeaways by the end. I do however wish that conversations around slut-shaming and bullying were handled a bit better. The former simply had a messy message and seemed to contradict itself, the latter not seriously acknowledged despite how prominent the bullying/school drama plotlines are throughout.
The writing style is very simple and easy to read which is fine, but older readers might find it a bit lacking. I found the multiple plot elements enough to hold interest. The school politics wore on me a bit, whereas the journey Rose goes on to learn to be more responsible and trust people around her was well done imo. I also really enjoyed the worldbuilding of the vampire society and how the school is run. I think the author put a lot of thought into the position each character in the book has in society and how that affects their choices and how they treat others. Most of the time they treat each other poorly! but societal pressure and petty teenage angst create a pressure cooker environment in the school that is palpable. Rose in particular is mean to almost everyone except Lissa, which is acknowledged in the book and honestly just made me like Rose more. Give me petty teenage characters that get angry and mess up (Not perfect and bland protags that have no room for growth)
Anyway, this book despite its length has a lot going on and although it is very much a vampire YA book published in 2007, I did enjoy my time reading it!
Graphic: Animal death and Self harm
Moderate: Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, and Kidnapping
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, and Terminal illness
The adult/minor relationship is between a 17 year old and a 25 year old. He is her mentor and never pressures her and in fact actively avoids pursuing her. The minor doesn't spend much time pursuing him but does think about her attraction to him and internally acknowledges that the relationship probably shouldn't happen due to the age gap between them. Near the end of the bookelx_mathit'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
3.75
Graphic: Animal death and Self harm
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Mental illness
Minor: Car accident
hoffmann's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Self harm, Blood, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent, Death, and Animal death
Minor: Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Drug use, Terminal illness, and Murder
the_escapist's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Bullying, Classism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Self harm, Car accident, and Blood
Minor: Abandonment, Addiction, Sexual assault, Animal death, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Torture, Terminal illness, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Gore, and Animal cruelty
pokebon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
iwantacactus'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? It's complicated
1.75
Graphic: Bullying, Racism, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia
lmcknight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Blood, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Drug use, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Animal death, Car accident, Misogyny, Pedophilia, and Suicidal thoughts
abbyreadsbigbooks123's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Death of parent, Animal death, and Self harm
sarahsbookss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Infidelity, Torture, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Grief, Self harm, Death, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
madalynmiles's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Self harm, Animal death, Blood, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Kidnapping
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury