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modernathos's review
- 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
4.25
Byrne's writing style is distinctive in many ways, all of them positive; we follow the main character, Ash, a teenager, in a first person perspective, and it reads exactly like that.
Generally, I am not the biggest fan of love at first sight stories, but the way Ash and Poppy's relationship developed compensated for that.
As the story went on, especially from the point that
Something that I feel that needs to be mentioned is the character development of Ashana's mother. She was raised to have a negative opinion against homosexuality and, even when Ash comes out as a lesbian, she finds it hard to accept it, staying mostly (uncomfortably) silent. A few months later, however, when
Did this story have a lot of character development in the sense of the characters making mistakes and growing as they learn from them? No. Because it was not necessary. The story is about first (true) love, grief, acceptance, closure and goodbyes. The book is meant to be a cute read that will still leave you in tears when you finish it and that, it did perfectly.
If you are a lover of cute, useless lesbians, books you will need some time to recover from once you've finished it, and/or magic realism? Afterlove is definitely a book you should pick up.
To close off, the clear foreshadowing to Ash dying (which was possible because it is the main event of the book)? Ouch. /pos.
Rep: lesbian MC, MCOC, South-American MC, muslim character.
January 25th, 2023 - February 2nd, 2023.
"Maybe we'll burn bright for a few weeks then collapse in on ourselves, but Mr. Moreno says that's how galaxies are made anyways." - Before, chapter 5.
"[...] as we head under the bridge, I know that I'd follow her to the edge of the fucking world." - Before, hapter 6.
"I feel like I've loved you for a really long time, but it still isn't enough." - After, chapter 27.
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Death, and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Grief, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, and Violence
Minor: Suicide, Body horror, and Murder
jazminnnnnnn's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Car accident, Homophobia, and Death
Minor: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Grief, Islamophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Murder, Transphobia, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicide attempt
diyanosauruss's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Suicide and Homophobia
Minor: Islamophobia
rockett's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Car accident, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Blood, Hate crime, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Child death, Islamophobia, Lesbophobia, Outing, and Racism