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pond_newt's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Homophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Hate crime
Moderate: Drug use, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Minor: Abandonment, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
jennsp'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
katsbooks'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
3.0
“I’m more happy than not. Don’t forget me.”
“Happiness shouldn’t be this hard.”
This book was a complete roller coaster. One of my students recommended it so, of course, I had to follow through and let them know how I felt about it. I'll be real, I thought I was going to get an angsty teen novel, and it was that, but it was also so much more than that. It was fast-paced and angsty, like I said, but it also included so much more about relationships and trauma. So definite trigger warnings for suicide (attempted and successful), emotional abuse, grief, death of a parent, hate crimes and medical trauma. There are probably more that I'm forgetting but those are just the rapid fire ones I could think of off the top of my head. I enjoyed the time I spent with this book and I am definitely going to give Adam Silvera's other work a try. This was his debut novel and, again, it was good, it just felt a little lacking to me. There were times when the writing felt a little clunky and awkward. There were some points where I feel like it dragged on just a bit too much because of all the different elements. But for a debut, it's pretty solid. I may even put my copy in my classroom for my other students to enjoy.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Death of parent, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Sexual content
Minor: Abortion, Cursing, and Domestic abuse
maryy_r0se's review against another edition
**note: I read this as part of an ongoing project to read and critique young adult books that include themes of mental illness**
High schooler Aaron Soto is on the path to recovering from his father's suicide and his own suicide attempt. With Gen, his free-spirited and loving girlfriend at his side, he is ready to move forward, even when the pain feels overwhelming. His progress gets derailed when he befriends Thomas, a quirky kid with a love of movies and no real direction in life. Aaron feels connected to Thomas in a confusing way that seems to transcend friendship. Add to that his community's mounting tension over the Leteo Institute, a controversial medical practice that claims to suppress distressing memories, and Aaron begins to find himself in a freefall that may very well be his undoing.
There is a lot to like about this book. I don't regularly read young adult novels, so it took me a while to adjust to the writing style. However, Silvera achieves at writing a main character who is deeply flawed and yet the reader can still root for. The pacing was inconsistent at parts, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the first half, but the second half really picked up for me.
The comparisons to Eternal Sunshine are certainly warranted, and at times I did wonder if it felt close enough to the movie to dull my enjoyment of the book; it is not a rip off by any means, but didn't fully grip my attention because of the occasional inkling of "haven't I heard this before?" I kept waiting for Thomas, the book's resident movie buff, to bring up the Eternal Sunshine connection. That said, I have very little experience with sci fi content, and perhaps if I did I would simply see this as a common enough trope that it wouldn't stand out.
I read the version with the altered ending, and while I think I personally would have appreciated the original ending a tad more, considering it is a teen book I think adding the extra chapter was the right move. I was left with a major question at the end:
I read this book to screen it for a library booklist I am making regarding teen mental health books, and I have decided to approve it for the list. Despite some flaws, I think it shows a nuanced perspective on familial suicide and mental health, while also providing representation to often unrepresented groups.
Graphic: Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy
mschills'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
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Physical abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, and Grief
dhruthick'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
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, and Child death
Minor: Rape
emm_furlong's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Drug use, Grief, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
19becky97's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence
emilyellen07'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
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
abbiesb_read'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
2.5
This book read like a draft that needed more editing.
The narrator, Aaron, was insufferable at times. For most of the book I honestly couldn’t stand him and considered DNF the book because he acted like he was entitled to have his feelings returned. We can not control how others feel about us which i thought was going to be part of the message of this book—which would have been a very powerful message—instead we have a character whose entire happiness relies on others. —which is a terrible message.
There were so many moments where I felt like Aaron was in denial that a guy could have physical attraction towards him and also still be figuring out his sexuality— or that a guy could have been experimenting and came to the conclusion he isn’t gay. Considering that Aaron himself was questioning his own sexually he never once acted like it was ok for his male love interests to also question their own sexuality. If his feelings towards them weren’t returned and they showed any sort of straightness—“he’s gay and he’s in denial if he thinks he isn’t”. This book acts like being Straight or Gay are the only options.
Also, the friend characters were written very stereotypical and lacked any sort of interesting substance. I often found myself getting them confused because they all had the same personality.
Why was “no homo” used SO MANY TIMES?? I don’t have a problem with it being used. I’m in my 30s and I do remember kids my age in middle school saying it but why was that saying used so EXCESSIVELY?!
In terms of the plot: Sometimes the pacing was fast, other times it slogged. I felt like this book tried to cram in as much trauma as it possibly could so it could make you “feel something” but it came off as emotionally manipulative. The “twist” ending and then eventual conclusion made me wander what was the damn point of this book.
I read We Both Die at the End first and this didn’t even come close to the same impact that book had on me. However, I acknowledge that this is Adam’s first novel so I’m glad his writing has improved!
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Death of parent, Self harm, Medical trauma, and Homophobia
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Biphobia