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fios_dead's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Trafficking, Alcoholism, Blood, Bullying, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Sexual content, Child abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Torture
jesstafson's review against another edition
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic friendship, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Eating disorder, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
pharmasyd'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
3.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Death, Addiction, Blood, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
jillianalice's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
WHY IS NO ONE TALKING ABOUT THE TITLE???
It’s been a week since I finished it and it’s still too raw to review. The author is incredible because I fell so in love with Jude, Willem, Harold, and Andy that I felt sad for days following the ending. I cried too many times that it is embarrassing to admit.
I have a complicated opinion on whether or not this book is trauama-porn. In the first 3/4 of the book I saw her vision, of showing how trauma follows you into every crevice of your life. And sometimes people don’t recover, no matter how well their life turns out or how many people love them. And their stories deserve to be told…. BUT I think she could have gotten her point across without Dr. Traylor… or the abhorrent severity of Caleb’s actions. At first I thought she approached the events in a respectful manner, but it was not necessary to describe the Caleb event so graphically. Or the self-harm scenes in such vivid detail. So I understand why this book is criticized as being trauma porn, she went a bit overboard.
I do wish that Malcom and JB’s stories were told more. She depicted JB’s addiction so well, I think she could have explored it further. Malcom’s struggle with his sexuality and racial identity was also very intriguing, but not expanded on.
I did love how deliberate her use of words is and lyrical that it is so easy to immersive yourself in their world. She described the complicated psyche and emotions of human beings so well. As someone who loves character driven novels, this was perfect. I highly doubt I will ever read a book that pierces me so deeply.
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Grief, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Chronic illness, Drug use, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Torture, Ableism, Addiction, Alcohol, Body horror, Confinement, Gore, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, Blood, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Trafficking, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Rape, Terminal illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, and Sexual violence
kayleighr'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: Blood, Body horror, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Body shaming, Grief, Self harm, Car accident, Classism, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Pedophilia, Rape, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Ableism, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Suicide, Stalking, Child abuse, Dementia, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Medical trauma, Abandonment, Alcohol, Child death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, and Suicide attempt
aliceelizabethb's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Addiction, Cursing, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Self harm, Pedophilia, Medical content, Child abuse, Classism, Sexual violence, Outing, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Gore, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Torture, Terminal illness, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Abandonment, Car accident, Drug use, Rape, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Ableism, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
arxhie'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
4.5
Graphic: Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Torture, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, and Mental illness
avery_hutchinson'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: Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Torture, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Rape, Mental illness, Drug abuse, Gore, Vomit, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Violence, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Stalking, Car accident, Racism, Addiction, Drug use, Gaslighting, Blood, Chronic illness, Medical content, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Death, and Panic attacks/disorders
irissantos'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
3.5
Senti-me tão dividida pela dualidade; de um lado a miséria física e psicológica de Jude; do outro a mensagem sobre o quão importante é termos pessoas a quem nos apoiarmos, enquanto o nosso mundo colapsa uma e outra vez.
Durante toda a obra foi crescendo em mim a dúvida: é possível que exista alguém que sofra tanto, com tanta frequência? É possível que alguém tenha uma vida tão desprovida da calmaria e aborrecimento do quotidiano cuja existência seja constantemente apedrejada por automutilação, morte, luto, violência física e psicológica?
Por outro lado muitas vezes fui apreciando o positivo que existia ao longo dos anos: a rede de suporte, a importância das amizades na nossa vida, da constância que algumas pessoas mantêm, e do quão importante é ter uma base sólida para onde possamos voltar quando nos encontramos à deriva (metaforicamente).
Lidar com alguém que está atormentado por doenças mentais pode ser incrivelmente doloroso e difícil de impedir que isso afete a nossa saúde mental também. Este é um tema que se repete muito no livro e que achei muito realista: como a família e amigos de Jude tentam oferecer apoio a alguém tão torturado pelo passado sem que elas próprias tenham a sua saúde mental em cheque.
Apesar de ter lindíssimas passagens, o passo lento do livro e a constante necessidade de fazer referências uma e outra vez à violência e automutilação tornaram-na numa obra que para mim vale 3.5 estrelas. O livro poderia facilmente ter menos 100 páginas que continuava a ter a mesma carga emocional.
No fundo o que resta é isto: por muito que amemos alguém isso pode não ser o suficiente; toda a terapia e apoio do mundo não são necessários para alguém tão abusado e torturado pelos eventos que a vida lhe ofereceu, e que nem sempre a vida nos oferece um final feliz.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Sexual violence, Death, Abandonment, Blood, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, and Toxic relationship
hvokey'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
4.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Kidnapping, Addiction, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Child death, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Rape, Medical trauma, Death, Child abuse, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Drug abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Car accident, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Body shaming, Sexual assault, Adult/minor relationship, Forced institutionalization, Sexual violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Vomit, Terminal illness, Racism, Hate crime, Sexual content, Torture, Infidelity, and Drug use