Reviews with content warning for Pregnancy - The Rachel Incident

“When something good happens to you at that age, you can’t settle with the notion that it’s a one-off. You want it to be the beginning of a tradition. That’s how I felt about that night: I wanted it already to be a memory, a foundational one, a first evening of many similar evenings. I wanted future nostalgia, a rear-view, years-old fondness for something that had literally just happened.”

Content Warnings

sineadisreadingagain's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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jareadforfilth's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

I loved this book so much, the writing just sucks you in and Rachel is such a magnetic character, through all of her flaws and insecurities there is such a heart there. This story is mostly a retrospective which I think is perfect because of the amount of strain and stress that comes through, letting us know that in the end Rachel is more or less ok from the beginning. I also love what an amazing ally she was to her roommate and think the queerness in this story is beautifully represented, visceral, and authentic. I could see bits of myself in James throughout and the sentiments he experienced in his identity. The great drama at the crux of this story is so ruthless, and the perseverance displayed is aspirational. Through so much hardship, beauty emerged and it just makes me sooooo hopeful and inspired. This book is exceptional!!

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kaddictwithapen's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful lighthearted reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

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danajoy's review against another edition

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emotional reflective

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes

4.25

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bethantg's review against another edition

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medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

Definitely has friendship and relationships at its heart, with some interesting discussions about the grey areas of these relationships. My favourite aspect of this was the focus on how different people express their care for one another in unconventional ways, or how their struggle to show it at all. But for a character-focused book, the protagonist is massively lacking. She is only really defined by her actions, which she’s often unhappy with, but offers no introspection into these actions other than “I did a bad thing and I feel bad about it.” She also does nothing to rectify these mistakes or grow from them — if they’re resolved, it’s a matter of chance or another character’s decision.

(Carey for the former and Deenie for the latter.)

Her older self is not a character at all, more of a vessel that the story happens to.
Despite this gripe, this is well-written and an interesting coming-of-age story that just unfortunately didn’t really resonate with me on many points.

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lexim's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

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