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chefboyavi's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- 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
Beautifully written, well conceived, and ultimately heartbreaking. I’ve never been more grateful to have gone to public school.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Dysphoria, Fatphobia, and Body shaming
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Classism, Bullying, Drug use, Stalking, and Sexual harassment
dystopia's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Biphobia, Transphobia, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Racism, Fatphobia, and Classism
Minor: War, Suicidal thoughts, Alcoholism, and Pedophilia
sadpear's review against another edition
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
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
This novel will resonate with a very specific type of person. Someone who remembers how strange everything was in the late 90s, early 2000s. Someone who had a livejournal. Someone who lived with the idea that maybe they were the only one. Someone who google searches a name and wonders how someone can have zero presence online.
I think one of the pieces of this book that resonated so strongly with me was Fay's anger. In a couple different scenes we feel her absolute rage and frustration at how the person in her head doesn't match the person existing in the world. The destructive things aren't quite the same destructive things I did myself as a teen but I recognized it. There were moments in this I felt bone deep.
The shifting perspectives, the jumping in time - it's chaotic and shouldn't work but it does. It gives a sense of how obsessive and intense those specific moments were. While this novel takes place in a private school, this is not the usual private school novel. It's beautiful and heartbreaking.
I think one of the pieces of this book that resonated so strongly with me was Fay's anger. In a couple different scenes we feel her absolute rage and frustration at how the person in her head doesn't match the person existing in the world. The destructive things aren't quite the same destructive things I did myself as a teen but I recognized it. There were moments in this I felt bone deep.
The shifting perspectives, the jumping in time - it's chaotic and shouldn't work but it does. It gives a sense of how obsessive and intense those specific moments were. While this novel takes place in a private school, this is not the usual private school novel. It's beautiful and heartbreaking.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Dysphoria
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