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thatswhatshanread's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
A suspenseful, fast-paced page turner. TJ Newman really knows how to keep the reader engaged. While many of the plot points are predictable, or as predictable as they can be in the realm of disaster flights, I enjoyed it for the most part. It had my adrenaline pumping and I genuinely liked a few of the characters, even when their actions were kinda dumb.
My main problem with this novel was in regard to the way the terrorist situation was written—Why make the bad guys Middle Eastern?? Very much playing into the offensive stereotype, not to mention unoriginal. It would have been far more compelling and truly unpredictable to have it be some random white dude with a vendetta against the airline or something. Idk. That, and the overdone reasoning behind the hijacking, just felt like a cop out in poor taste.
I definitely preferred Drowning over this one!
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, War, Self harm, Violence, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Bullying, Confinement, and Gun violence
jenniferbbookdragon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Newman did a great job humanizing the "bad guys" and demonstrating the complex emotions that can paralyze people in crisis. Her decision to include the aftermath and trauma of survival levels the story up above the typical beach read.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, Car accident, Gun violence, Violence, Grief, Suicide, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Murder, War, and Injury/Injury detail
sarah_amy'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? It's complicated
5.0
This is the very first line and it kept me on the edge of my seat from then on! Full of suspense and so much plot-twisty goodness! I've been looking for something like this for ages and hit gold. I would have read it in one go but I needed to take breaks from the tension! Oh and the author has experience in being a flight attendant, so you're completely immersed and believe everything that happens. Deserves so much more hype.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Violence, Confinement, Emotional abuse, and Hate crime
Moderate: Blood, Physical abuse, and Death
perfectcupoftea's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Violence, Murder, Blood, Death, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Genocide, Car accident, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and War
sh543's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Confinement, Death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, and Suicide
Minor: Child death, War, and Suicide attempt
r_o_s_e'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? No
2.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Confinement
Moderate: Suicide, Death, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Grief
Minor: Violence, Vomit, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Murder, and Cursing
tlaynejones's review
2.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Genocide, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Violence, Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Racism, Car accident, and Gun violence
cait's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Minor: Blood, Child death, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Xenophobia, War, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Suicide, Violence, Hate crime, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Genocide, and Gore
marareading'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
This book has many POVs, but is about a pilot who is given a choice. His family on the ground has been kidnapped. Either crash the plane and kill every aboard, or let his family die. It is definitely gripping watching the entire cast of characters from different positions go through this senario.
Was it perfect? No. It is my favorite book? No. Was it a fun thriller? Yes! Do I recommend it! Absolutely. It is a milkshake read. You want to get through it and find out what happens.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, War, Confinement, Death, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Self harm, and Violence
scburhans's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
I found it really cheap and frankly disgusting that Newman chose to play into stereotypes and make the bad guys Middle Eastern/Islamic. It's 2022, it's time we stop demonizing an entire ethno-religous group because of the actions of a few men 20 goddamn years ago. There were moments where it felt like Newman was trying to overcome this, but it fell flat and just came off as in bad taste. The whole brown guy = bad guy bullshit is overplayed, overused, and fucking disgusting.
I also didn't care about 90% of the characters. Theo, Jo, and the kids were pretty much the only people I cared about and, not so coincidentally, they were the only ones with complex characteristics! Bill was such a cookie cutter, rah-rah-All-American hero character that I could not care less about. So much of the plot was unoriginal as well. There were whole chapters that were almost scene for scene recreations of a Criminal Minds episode, season 10 episode 3 to be exact.
Worst of all, somehow, I was bored throughout this entire book. I have no idea how she did it, but I could only read a few pages before I would get bored and go do something else for a while. Very rarely have I ever been so incredibly bored by a thriller. Somehow, it was both faced paced and slow as hell. Everything happened quickly, but it wasn't fast enough apparently.
Not my cup of tea, probably won't reccomend it to anyone either.
Graphic: Blood, Confinement, Xenophobia, Murder, Racism, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Violence
Moderate: Gun violence, Self harm, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Religious bigotry
Minor: Vomit