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fionamclary's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Like many readers, I had a hard time seeing how all four perspectives fit together. Often it felt like I was reading two to three different books. I think if all four characters had personal connections to each other, it would have worked much better. As it was, basically the only character that Louisa had any relation to was Karina. This made the different perspectives feel additionally disjointed. However, all characters went through satisfying development, whether for better or for worse. Preston, falling into the latter category, ended up being an interesting vehicle for exploring the intersection of art, capitalism, and the 2010s internet through a lens that captured both the 2011-2012 setting of the book and the hindsight that the author has 10 years later.
Speaking of the early 2010s...a small thing that bothered the heck out of me was the timeline of Preston's Tumblr. The book says that he started it shortly after his mother's death, which happened when he was 14. This would have been 7-8 years before the events of the book. Tumblr was launched in 2007, 4-5 years before the events of the book. I was surprised that a Millennial author would get this detail wrong—and she could have resolved it by saying that he started on another platform and then migrated to Tumblr, but no, it explicitly says that he started his Tumblr soon after his mom died. This bugged me way too much but I don't think it's an unreasonable thing to get right. Am I crazy??
I read this book in April 2024, as I'm watching encampments protesting the genocide in Gaza go up on university campuses across the country, so the Occupy setting of this book felt especially timely. I might recommend this book to anyone looking for parallels in their reading life to current events.
Anyway, I think this would be a solid read for the art girlies looking for something meditative and gay. Just don't expect it to be The queer academia of all time.
Graphic: Infidelity, Drug use, Classism, Alcohol, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Cursing, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Suicide, Death, Dementia, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Lesbophobia, Bullying, Police brutality, Grief, and Homophobia
hannahshriver5's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Death and Violence
elisammansur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Death, and Sexual assault
queenkath32's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Drug use, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Death, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
1414's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Rape
leefox'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
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, Vomit, Drug use, Biphobia, Death, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
frannyrdclark'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: Drug use, Alcohol, Toxic relationship, and Mental illness
Moderate: Sexual violence, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual assault
Minor: Death, Dementia, Death of parent, Vomit, Grief, and Physical abuse
aweso10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Death, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicide and Death of parent
bootsmom3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, and Infidelity
Moderate: Grief, Dementia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Rape
Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Animal death, Cursing, and Death
jneverland's review against another edition
- 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? No
3.0
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Death, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Rape