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amandaelle's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Animal death, Death, Drug use, Addiction, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Racism, and Toxic relationship
iamaprettyflower's review
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
It was a solid 2 up until the very end. The twist completely surprised me!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
cloud_doggos's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
- 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
I’d heard a lot about this book a few years ago and picked it up. I really enjoyed reading it. The endearing characters with flaws and the microcosm of The Sinclairs private island are a bittersweet escape to read through.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Self harm
xabbeylongx's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Spoilers Ahead:
This book has been raved about all over TikTok, and I finally found it in a charity shop and wanted to see if it lived up to its name! Honestly, it was a pretty decent book, but it wasn’t anything special.
We follow Cadence as she makes her way through the summer. Beforehand, she had a lot of good memories of her and her three other friends. They called themselves the Liars, Cadence, Gat, Mirren and Johnny. They would spend every summer together. Cadence had a very big crush on Gat, and it was difficult to see if he felt the same way sometimes, but she loved him. After an incident where she loses her memory, she goes back for the summer.
All of the Liars are pulling away from her, and there seems to be an awful lot of arguing in their family, and lots of tears. Cadence feels so alone, and weird with her memories. She starts giving away stuff, and acting weirdly, as her memories start to return. It’s only then that she finds out that all of her friends died in the incident.
They had decided to start a fire, as every person in the family was fighting over who would get what when their dad died, and they just wanted it to be peaceful again. So, they set fire to the house, thinking it would solve all of their problems…
It didn’t.
Mirren, Johnny and Gat all died, and it took her memories coming back for her to know. Once she finds out, after being told by them (their ghosts were trying to make sure she was okay) she says goodbye to them, as they had hung on for too long anyway. They waded into the sea and Cadence said a final goodbye to them. She stopped giving everything away - she was doing it out of guilt - and she decided to do better for her friends, who didn’t get to do everything that they wanted to do.
I thought the whole concept was very cool. I knew that somewhere towards the ending there would be a plot twist, and I was expecting it to be that she was dead, not that the others were all dead. I think it’s so sad, watching her gain back her memories, only to realise that she caused all the deaths. Especially the dogs, that was gut-wrenching. And finding out she’s been talking to them all this time? Just stab me in the eye, it will hurt less. I wasn’t overly thrilled by the book. I thought the style was very cool, and it’s a very simple book to read, but it’s not all that bad. A little overhyped, I must say, but it’s not a bad book. I think the meaning is very cool, the fact that actions have consequences, some of them life-altering, and sometimes just a simple ‘sorry’ won’t cut it. I also like how Cadence was learning of her memories as we were, I thought that was a very cool technique. I think the book is cleverly written, but just not as thrilling as I thought it would be. Still worth the read, though!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Racism, Self harm, Death, Animal death, Drug use, Child death, and Murder
alixsbooktherapy's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
mysterious
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I gasped when cadence talked about her accident it broke my heart
I loved how descriptive the author was for the first few chapters
"I wanted to go back with a book" me too cadence
Gat flirting was so funny really brought some brightness to the awkwardness
"The universe was good because he was in it"
My heart hurt for cadence after she found out gat kept something from her
"The universe is seeming really huge right now I need something to hold onto" gat said
"I'm here"
THE KISS YES!! IM SO HAPPY
Granny tipper😭
Mummy should of been nicer and let the kids grieve
How I hated mummy she was a drunk and loved to manipulate her kids I definitely feel this book was overhyped I hope book 2 redeems my hope for this
I feel this book would of been 10x better if it was longer and was more descriptive other then that the end pulled it to together for me
I hated the family and how mommy and granddad were such assholes to the kids and wanted to spilt gat and cadence up just because he's not white like take your racist bullshit elsewhere
We finally learn that Cady didn't hit her head on a swimming injury and it was a fire injury instead.
"I have lost you, gat because of how desperately,desperately I fell in love"
'It's good to be loved even though it will not last"
"Be a little kinder"
"Shut up I'm 10 already"
I loved how descriptive the author was for the first few chapters
"I wanted to go back with a book" me too cadence
Gat flirting was so funny really brought some brightness to the awkwardness
"The universe was good because he was in it"
My heart hurt for cadence after she found out gat kept something from her
"The universe is seeming really huge right now I need something to hold onto" gat said
"I'm here"
THE KISS YES!! IM SO HAPPY
Granny tipper😭
Mummy should of been nicer and let the kids grieve
How I hated mummy she was a drunk and loved to manipulate her kids I definitely feel this book was overhyped I hope book 2 redeems my hope for this
I feel this book would of been 10x better if it was longer and was more descriptive other then that the end pulled it to together for me
I hated the family and how mommy and granddad were such assholes to the kids and wanted to spilt gat and cadence up just because he's not white like take your racist bullshit elsewhere
We finally learn that Cady didn't hit her head on a swimming injury and it was a fire injury instead.
"I have lost you, gat because of how desperately,desperately I fell in love"
'It's good to be loved even though it will not last"
"Be a little kinder"
"Shut up I'm 10 already"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Incest, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Ableism, Violence, Rape, Racism, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Terminal illness, Suicide, Addiction, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Torture, Sexual content, Self harm, and Pregnancy
_angelbxby8's review
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Xenophobia, and Suicidal thoughts
renegadereads's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Child death
Moderate: Self harm and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
nagaakil's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Gaslighting, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Dementia, Racism, and Self harm
kaitlinsreadingjourney24's review
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- 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
3.75
Easy to read
Interesting plot
Big twist
Ghosts
Enjoyed
Interesting plot
Big twist
Ghosts
Enjoyed
Content Warnings
Minor: Medical trauma, Self harm, and Racism
jordan_noel's review
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
I thought the plot twist in this book was good, and there were a lot of interesting points to think about (e.g., Cast’s grief process and her understand of her own grief, the way the teens think about the Sinclair family wealth, and the family dynamics).
However, I didn’t feel that I really knew the characters. I knew what Cady felt, but I didn’t know any of their interests and true motivations beyond their love for each other. This made it difficult for me to be engaged in the book.
However, I didn’t feel that I really knew the characters. I knew what Cady felt, but I didn’t know any of their interests and true motivations beyond their love for each other. This made it difficult for me to be engaged in the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Classism, Death, Grief, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Abandonment, Drug use, Alcohol, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm, Racism, and Blood