Scan barcode
eessaahh'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
4.25
Graphic: Terminal illness, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Violence, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, and Vomit
ryven64'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
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Child abuse, Ableism, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Dysphoria, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Abandonment, Grief, Child death, Emotional abuse, Sexual violence, Vomit, Car accident, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
bellep4's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Okay SPOILERS going forward.
1. Up until the half-way point I was willing to give this book more benefit of doubt, I was leaning towards "this may not be for me and not well thought but also not entirely horrible", and then I got to the Caleb chapters. This section just came out of nowhere, yes we have heard about Jude's trauma (focusing on sexual and physical abuse throughout his childhood) and we know he has incredibly low self-esteem. However, we also know that he is closed-off from people, and how hard it is for him to welcome others into his private life. So Jude getting into a relationship so fast with a man he has JUST MET and letting him into his house (his safe place, his most private place) like right away just makes no sense for his character, and then with all the abuse and detailed descriptions of it that follow in just 30ish pages...that's what tipped the scale for me, that's when I knew the author really did not care about making sense or being consistent and was just looking to traumatize her readers.
2. I believe you can write realistic books about the harder truths of life, and there are definitely people who have gone through so much, too much, and it is unfair and makes your skin crawl. However, as someone who has gone through some of what Jude went through, I felt this book solely focused of the bad and the negative THE ENTIRE TIME,. Even during the "Happy Years" when Jude and Willem get into a relationship and they are mostly happy and are able to overcome a lot as friends and a couple, the chapters will briefly mention like "oh yeah they were happy together" and then go into never-ending descriptions of all the buts and the issues in the relationship but not putting anywhere near the same effort into describing their happiness and joyful/peaceful moments, which leads me into my next point.
3. There is nothing more to the characters- Jude especially since the other 3 fizzle out as the story progresses which is something I disliked but narratively can be argued has a point and makes sense- beyond their trauma. That is their entire personality, and this is simply unrealistic, especially because Jude grows up to have a very successful career and very close circle of pole who love, support and genuinely care for him. But the author never cares to truly develop or discuss these things if without immediately relating it to Jude's trauma or taking it as an opportunity to expand on it.
4. After I finished I did some research and found out the author actually said they did not believe in therapy (which become very very obvious in the second half of the book) and that she wanted to create a character that was beyond repair. Now, not only is this an incredibly harmful ideology, but it is also lazy. She does not explore the complexities of reality and mental illness and depression/anxiety/self-harm/suicide.
5. I do not actually take issue with the fact that Willem dies when he and Jude seem happiest, i do think this part is realistic and life just sometimes is so unpredictable, nor with the fact that Jude does end up committing suicide, something we are told by Harold that will happen in the middle of the book right after the Caleb chapters. So it is not that a sad ending is what has fueled my dislike and disdain for this book, it is everything else before it, especially the lack of personality and development the characters have. They are not really people, the author clearly hates them and her readers, they, once again Jude especially, are merely personifications of all the most horrible and traumatic events a person can go through.
I do somewhat understand why there are people who like this book and say it has changed them, as I said in the begging the language used is beautiful and, mostly in the pages after Jude's death, there are some very inspiring and quotable passages. I did not like this book- mainly because if enrages me more than it saddens me- at all and would not recommend it to my worst enemy.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Vomit, Eating disorder, Grief, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Dysphoria, Sexual assault, and Sexual content
Take the trigger warnings very very seriously before reading this book if you choose to do so.elise_gaubert'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Abandonment, Cursing, Car accident, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Vomit, Grief, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Trafficking, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual violence, and Violence
nina938474939'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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Sexual assault, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Alcoholism, Child death, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Incest, Gaslighting, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Alcohol, Child abuse, Death, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Vomit
sisirasage's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
0.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Mental illness, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, Death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Self harm, Sexual violence, Stalking, Body shaming, Trafficking, Body horror, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Sexual harassment, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Toxic friendship, Murder, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Car accident, Gaslighting, Gore, Sexual assault, Grief, Homophobia, and Sexual content
zaineb_f's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Vomit, Addiction, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Gaslighting, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Grief, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Abandonment, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence
zipzapzoom88'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: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Child abuse, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Rape, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Chronic illness, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Child death
This book is full of extremely heavy topics. The main character experiences many traumatic events, as a child, that result in lasting effects in adulthood. Suicidal thoughts/attempts/self harm and sexual abuse are the biggest warning I would give for this book.cowardlyteaman'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
I absolutely love the way these characters are built, to be honest. They all got on my nerves at different points, but I still cherished all of them. I really like it when flawed characters.🫶
Willem is wonderful, of course, but not perfect? He makes mistakes! He's selfish, even. Delusional, at points.
Jude has been through — more than most, to say the least. And to be completely frank, it gets old after a while. I get tired of hearing about his problems, and I get tired of reading about him falling into the same patterns over and over again. However, I'm sure he's just as tired as I am. Or far more, probably. When I realised this, it became easier to empathise with his character.
JB is such a wonderfully flawed character. He made me wince with second hand ... not even embarrassment, just pain. I love him, even if he's a crown dick at multiple points during the book.
Malcolm is just there, honestly. Emotional support architect. But I do love a homosexual who never manages to admit it.
However, there comes the problem ... that there is no plot. There is no plot whatsoever. There is no end goal, no ambition the characters have for the future. They just are.
Hadn't it been for the fact that I annotated and analysed this book (just for hobby), then I might have quickly discarded it...
The events are short and repetitive, and soon become extremely predictable.
Moving on to something slightly more off-track... the names.
Jude St. Francis is such a great name for a character. I love it so much. Fits him so well.
Willem Ragnarsson, however. Eh. As a Nordic person myself, I have to say that I'm a bit confused. He has a Danish mother and an Icelandic father who gave their son a Dutch name? It's by no means impossible, but William or Vilhjálmur or Wilhelm would've just made more sense? Don't even get me started on the fact that these two Swedish-speaking parents named their severely disabled son Hemming. In Norwegian (which in all honesty is not much different from Swedish), «hemming» means handicap. Hämning /hem-ning/ in Swedish. While I'm sure the author had no intention of this, it jus seems absolutely ridiculous of them to name their child eith cerebral palsy Hemming. Not to mention that no-one's fucking named that in Denmark, Sweden, or Iceland.
That was my rant. It was worth it, despite the occasional drags of COMPLETELY irrelevant information.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Blood, Body shaming, Grief, Ableism, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
sophie_inthebooks'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: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Dysphoria, Terminal illness, Violence, Emotional abuse, Grief, Rape, Child abuse, and Death