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3.74 AVERAGE
3.74 AVERAGE
What a story! I really thought this would just be a quirky little tale going in but it was so much more than that!
Ricky Bird a 12 year old and her brother Ollie has moved to a bleak neighborhood following a divorce. Ricky's mom is dating Dan and Ollie is having health issues. Ricky's power is to harness stories to protect herself as she makes allies and enemies in the new neighborhood. This book has reminded me how much puberty sucks and how little sense everything makes. How much you actually need your parents while it gets easier and easier to push them away. My heart broke for Ricky and I shuddered remembering how vicious pre-teens and teenagers can be. While there are some darker themes in the book, I think this book can be a valuable asset to start a conversation with a struggling pre-teen.
The narrator, Hannah Monson, does an excellent work for this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the advanced listening copy for this one.
Ricky Bird a 12 year old and her brother Ollie has moved to a bleak neighborhood following a divorce. Ricky's mom is dating Dan and Ollie is having health issues. Ricky's power is to harness stories to protect herself as she makes allies and enemies in the new neighborhood. This book has reminded me how much puberty sucks and how little sense everything makes. How much you actually need your parents while it gets easier and easier to push them away. My heart broke for Ricky and I shuddered remembering how vicious pre-teens and teenagers can be. While there are some darker themes in the book, I think this book can be a valuable asset to start a conversation with a struggling pre-teen.
The narrator, Hannah Monson, does an excellent work for this book.
Thank you NetGalley and Simon & Schuster Australia for the advanced listening copy for this one.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol
Minor: Abortion
dark
emotional
sad
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This is not a happy book. This is an incredibly sad book. It had be sobbing for the last half, and that's the only reason I can't give it five stars because I do not like sad books.
I enjoyed the main character, Ricky, very much. This was a fairly bleak read, and the bleakness continued somewhat relentlessly for most of the book. It is an accurate albeit devastating portrayal of what death and illness can do to a family. Through it all, though, Ricky was a bright spark, even at the moments when that spark seemed close to going out.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Ending was not an easy to see twist and it knocked me flat on my ass
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death
Moderate: Child abuse, Pedophilia, Sexual assault
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
While this was a beautiful story, it was also heartbreaking and very dark. I think this book should’ve been marketed better, as the comparisons so other wholesome and life-affirming books such as A Man Called Ove don’t hold up. This book tackles big and dark subjects such as pedophelia, eating disorders, sexual abuse, and child death. While it does so in a very thoughtful way, I wish the marketing made it more clear that this wasn’t a lighthearted, happy go lucky story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault
Moderate: Medical content
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
challenging
dark
medium-paced
A challenging read. I wish I had of read the content warnings before reading this book.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Sexual assault
Minor: Child death, Suicide attempt