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readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Racism
Moderate: Classism, Death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, and Child death
Minor: Addiction, Medical content, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcoholism, Alcohol, War, and Car accident
andrewhatesham's review against another edition
lighthearted
medium-paced
2.75
Sadly, this was a bit of a disappointment. I didn't think the plot or writing was very good. I can't tell if it's meant to be YA or Middlegrade (on TSG it's marked as children's and YA?) because the writing style and pacing feels very juvenile, but the main character is a 14/15yo, and there are a few things in it that I felt push the boundaries of a middlegrade book. Yet the overall plot felt immature.
Another thing that confused me is the time period, it felt like historical fiction (90s), but then they mention phones and texting. There's an author's note at the end and it turns out, the book was originally released in 2001, but this is a new version with tweaks to make it more modern. It says you wouldn't notice even if you've read the original, but it still felt a little off to me, as a new reader.
That being said, I wouldn't NOT recommend this. It just didn't click with me. If my expectations were set in a different way, I might have liked it more. But it happened that I fully expected it to be a book for a much younger audience and I was wrong.
Another thing that confused me is the time period, it felt like historical fiction (90s), but then they mention phones and texting. There's an author's note at the end and it turns out, the book was originally released in 2001, but this is a new version with tweaks to make it more modern. It says you wouldn't notice even if you've read the original, but it still felt a little off to me, as a new reader.
That being said, I wouldn't NOT recommend this. It just didn't click with me. If my expectations were set in a different way, I might have liked it more. But it happened that I fully expected it to be a book for a much younger audience and I was wrong.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Car accident, Grief, Pregnancy, and Racism
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