Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Heaven

Feeling sad and angry after reading this.the kind of book that just straight up stabbed me in the chest and left me in agony. yes this book is that sad.

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ttortugamarina's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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sappie's review against another edition

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dark hopeful reflective sad medium-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? N/A

3.0

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errie's review against another edition

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2.75

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sashasghost's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

this is a brutal and beautiful read.
the writing style is brilliant, you feel like you're delving into the mind of a 14 year old, the writing is mature yet simultaneously doesn't feel like it's written by an adult. Kawakami perfectly captures the voice of the unnamed boy, you feel like you're experiencing his thoughts and feelings as your own.
the complexity of the friendship with Kojima is so beautifully written. each interaction has a weight to it, the socially awkward, inept fumbling of these teenagers to the reflective, intense moments of coming to terms with life.
the content is intense but never feels gratuitous. everything has it's place and fits in. the event in the penultimate chapter is terrifying. it doesn't feel exploitative. i've been affected by the issues that event bought up, but it's clear Kawakami deeply understands the gravity of it. it's pleasant as a survivor to see it respected. it's the first time i've been able to read about it.
the bullying is very intense, to the point where at times you're riddled with stomach churning anxiety.
the final chapter felt so light, filled with hope. i'd highly recommend the read to anyone, but check the trigger warnings as a lot of dark, traumatic stuff happens.

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josiepark123's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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? It's complicated

5.0

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teriodvarkova88's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Because we're always in pain, we know exactly what it means to hurt somebody else.

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erickauribe's review against another edition

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emotional sad tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

The writting is incredible, and it was interesting to see the different POV on why the people act the way they do, and how we justify or give meaning to our lifes. A lot philosophical ideas were thrown into the narrative.

However, the bullying scenes were a bit too harsh to read, I understand the meaning of these scenes, it was just hard to go through

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