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dafidaf's review
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Child death, and Grief
madelynfrank's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
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
5.0
I really didn’t know what to expect with this book. Was chuckling and cringing. But also highlighting passages which I rarely do. And did not expect to cry. But I ugly sobbed.
Really specific to 2021 and I’m honestly looking forward to reading it again with 5+years for the nostalgia.
Really specific to 2021 and I’m honestly looking forward to reading it again with 5+years for the nostalgia.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion, Child death, Chronic illness, Medical content, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Death, Grief, and Medical trauma
sib_reads's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
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
2.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Grief, Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abortion, Alcohol, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cursing and Police brutality
quirkygirlreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Mental illness, Grief, and Abortion
camillatd's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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? Yes
4.5
Man, this book is SO good. It's unlike anything else I have ever read. I don't even want to explain it too much--just (check the content warnings and) read it. Lockwood's prose is incredible, and she lays bare truths about internet culture, society, family, and relationships with razor sharp sentences. This book is weird, wonderful, and an absolutely necessary and biting commentary on Being Online.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Terminal illness, and Grief
Moderate: Abortion, Ableism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Sexual content
leahfigiel's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief
Moderate: Child death
edgwareviabank's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
2.75
I'm having a hard time rating this book, because it's unlike anything I've ever read before. The verdict, in short, is I didn't enjoy it at all. It was a slog to read. Half of the time, I wasn't quite sure I was getting it.
I think the readers who are more likely to enjoy this are people who, like the protagonist, are Extremely Online. I'm not quite that. I'm sure there are lots of references I missed, and that contributed to my feeling of reading something way out of my league. That became exhausting quite fast. The whole first half of the book felt like that; when more emotional and relatable moments came up in the second part, the side of my brain that found the deliberate obscurity of nearly every sentence infuriating was already beyond silencing. The further I got, the more I found myself skimming over some of the short bursts of third-person narration. And with one of the points of the book (possibly) being that a life lived predominantly online robs the mind of focus on things that matter and have meaning...well, that's ironic, isn't it?
3 stars usually go to books I have at least mildly enjoyed, but 2 stars is what I'd give a book I find poorly written, and that's not the case here. Patricia Lockwood's use of language is, in fact, quite brilliant. Some of her images would make very good poetry. So I don't want all the negatives I found to take away from the fact I do believe the author is a skilled writer: this particular kind of nonconventional narrative was just really, really, really not for me.
I think the readers who are more likely to enjoy this are people who, like the protagonist, are Extremely Online. I'm not quite that. I'm sure there are lots of references I missed, and that contributed to my feeling of reading something way out of my league. That became exhausting quite fast. The whole first half of the book felt like that; when more emotional and relatable moments came up in the second part, the side of my brain that found the deliberate obscurity of nearly every sentence infuriating was already beyond silencing. The further I got, the more I found myself skimming over some of the short bursts of third-person narration. And with one of the points of the book (possibly) being that a life lived predominantly online robs the mind of focus on things that matter and have meaning...well, that's ironic, isn't it?
3 stars usually go to books I have at least mildly enjoyed, but 2 stars is what I'd give a book I find poorly written, and that's not the case here. Patricia Lockwood's use of language is, in fact, quite brilliant. Some of her images would make very good poetry. So I don't want all the negatives I found to take away from the fact I do believe the author is a skilled writer: this particular kind of nonconventional narrative was just really, really, really not for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death and Grief
nakutski's review
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
This was a tough but interesting reading experience. I found some of the content personally challenging and triggering, so this will inevitably affect my POV. Deciding not to star rate it because my ratings are quite emotive, and although I appreciated what this book was doing and trying to do, it wouldn't be accurate to say that I enjoyed it, so I don't think a rating will reflect its value.
1) I think it was an overall positive experience when it comes to learning about different forms storytelling can take, and especially when it comes to writing about and channeling social media and the digital environment. I am not sure, however, that as a reader I would have pulled through the reading experience if I was not listening to the audiobook version. I found the vignette style narration and constant cross references at times overwhelming and exhausting, as well as funny and interesting.
2) The book changed significantly about 2/3 of the way through. The first third it was hard to place the narrator or the flow of events, the was little to no 'plot' to speak of. At 2/3 of the way through the narrator became grounded through the life of her sister to the physical, outside of the Portal, reality she inhabited and that's when the book moved away from stream of consciousness and social media concept and became a little more grounded and started following a series of events so that the vague outline of time and 'a plot' appeared. Which is also when I found it a lot more manageable to follow. But this is also the instance when the content became challenging and triggering for me. It is fair to say this little novel flings you about a fair bit.
1) I think it was an overall positive experience when it comes to learning about different forms storytelling can take, and especially when it comes to writing about and channeling social media and the digital environment. I am not sure, however, that as a reader I would have pulled through the reading experience if I was not listening to the audiobook version. I found the vignette style narration and constant cross references at times overwhelming and exhausting, as well as funny and interesting.
2) The book changed significantly about 2/3 of the way through. The first third it was hard to place the narrator or the flow of events, the was little to no 'plot' to speak of. At 2/3 of the way through the narrator became grounded through the life of her sister to the physical, outside of the Portal, reality she inhabited and that's when the book moved away from stream of consciousness and social media concept and became a little more grounded and started following a series of events so that the vague outline of time and 'a plot' appeared. Which is also when I found it a lot more manageable to follow. But this is also the instance when the content became challenging and triggering for me. It is fair to say this little novel flings you about a fair bit.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Child death, Pregnancy, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Ableism
camillej's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Pregnancy and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, and Child death
Minor: Abortion
na_no's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Ableism