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carol16'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
3.25
Graphic: Murder, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Incest
Minor: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, and Islamophobia
manderleylilacs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Violence, Islamophobia, Drug use, Racism, Addiction, Murder, Racial slurs, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Classism, Alcohol, and Gun violence
Moderate: Incest, Abandonment, Physical abuse, and Gore
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Sexual assault, Rape, and Religious bigotry
I'm really glad I read this, it was down as a bucket list read for a long time. a I'm honestly shocked that so much of the dark academia aesthetic was tied to this novel, since it's shown throughout the book that the students taking Greek are pretentious, self-absorbed pricks; and it seems like everyone else in the university is incompetent or drunk/high constantly. The valley girls who the Greek students look down on seem to be the only semi-decent people here. That isn't a critique at all since that looks to be the point, but I don't know how that part of the fandom was able to emerge, I was gripped towards the end of the book wondering what would happen to the group, not that I was particularly wishing for a happy ending for any of them. I might have been more ~enamoured~ with the characters or aesthetic is I had read this as a teenager.carefulfearanddeaddevotion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
The only thing that saved this book from being a 1 star read is the writing. The scenes are well-paced, the conversations natural, the descriptions--both of location and feeling--are extremely vivid. Unlike The Goldfinch, I was able to finish this book. Like The Goldfinch, I found the characters bland and insufferable. I really just could not empathize or even sympathize with any of them. When Bunny was alive, he was bigoted and not very likeable. Once he died, I did feel bad for him, but only because I am not a psychopath and I think murdering a friend because they found out you murdered someone else is bad, actually.
I did find myself actively enjoying the book after
Not really that important overall, but was I actually meant to believe that he's in love with Camilla?? I'd sooner believe that he's in love with Cloke. He definitely had much more believable chemistry with all the boys in the group (or even Judy) than he did with Camilla. Just like Meredith and Oliver(?) in If We Were Villains I don't buy it, I really don't. Stop with the forced heterosexuality, stop shoving that shit down my throat. /lh
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Moderate: Homophobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Vomit, Incest, Blood, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Mental illness, Islamophobia, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Classism, and Antisemitism
berrytart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
(francis best character!!)
Graphic: Addiction, Classism, Racism, Incest, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Alcohol, Death, Islamophobia, Cursing, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Antisemitism, and Car accident
Minor: Cancer, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
arthedgehog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Incest, Gaslighting, Drug use, Drug abuse, Addiction, Grief, Gore, Gun violence, Blood, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Death, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Xenophobia, Gore, Death, Alcohol, Incest, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Racism, Toxic friendship, Forced institutionalization, Classism, Gun violence, Animal death, Islamophobia, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Murder, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Drug use, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Gore, Drug use, Classism, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Medical content, Islamophobia, Cursing, Sexual assault, Rape, Abandonment, Car accident, Suicide, Sexism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug abuse, Biphobia, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Mental illness, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Eating disorder, Deportation, Racism, Homophobia, Antisemitism, Misogyny, and Incest
breadkingbread'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
4.0
Also a smaller spoiler but the whole "Isram" thing feels incredibly out of place. Like this book references real life cultures and bigotry so many times but she felt the need to create a whole new place which is obviously just there as a stand-in for like any "Arab" country? Just feels like it was made specifically so that these short parts of the book had a sort of fictionalized cloak on them while leaving everything else largely realistic (in terms of cultures) for reasons unknown to me.
Graphic: Alcohol, Murder, and Grief
Minor: Homophobia, Incest, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Violence, Antisemitism, Classism, Islamophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Suicide
rhamil12's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
2.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Addiction, Islamophobia, Drug use, Homophobia, and Racism
olorin85's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Sexism, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Drug abuse, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Murder, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Islamophobia, Violence, Racial slurs, and Vomit
mcosmic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Murder, and Addiction
Moderate: Incest, Blood, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug abuse, Self harm, and Sexism
mskingbean69's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence, Islamophobia, Body horror, Gaslighting, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Animal death, Classism, Fatphobia, Rape, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Racial slurs, Violence, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, and Suicidal thoughts