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melaniereadsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Thank you to Hear Our Voices Tours and PUSH for an arc of this book.
In the wake of their brother's death, Liam has to contend with his grief, tensions between them and their parents, and faltering friendships. Told through multiple points and time before and after Ethan's death, this is a story of grief and reconciliation and understanding more about others and yourself.
Firstly, I'd like to say that Mason Deaver has done it again and their writing is still absolutely phenomenal. It's heart-wrenching, deep, and provides so much food for thought. I really enjoyed reading about Liam's journey and how they reconciled with what happened to his brother. I think this story has so much going for it and communicates feelings of grief that are often glanced over in books. It really gave me a lot of feelings.
There were two things about this book that kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating. The first one was something that I'm not sure will be in the finished version or not. Liam is nonbinary and uses they/them and he/him pronouns. They expressed that he doesn't like to be called "son," "guy/dude/man/boy/etc". To me, someone with those preferences typically also wouldn't like the word "brother" for themselves, and would prefer "sibling" or something else. Now, obviously if the character is okay with "brother," then that is totally valid. My thought process here is that it is actually not obvious if Liam is okay with this or not, as there are other times in the book when someone calls him a name they are not okay with, and he decides to let it go. This makes me wonder if the times Liam was referred to as brother were a mistake? Or if maybe it just needed to be explicitly stated that he wasn't okay with those other terms, but was okay with this one.
The other thing I took issue with was more of a personal note: there is a very graphic and detailed scene of self-harm in this book. Personally, I didn't think that scene was necessary to the plot or the story, or even fit well with Liam's character up to that point. I honestly wish this chapter hadn't been included, or at least that I had known ahead of time and skipped it myself. After I had finished reading, I looked on the author's website and saw that they do mention it as a content warning for this book. I wish it had been written at the beginning of the book along with other content warnings, as I feel many readers are not in the practice of checking websites before reading a book.
All in all, I really did enjoy this book, although I think the personally triggering content for me will keep me from reading it again. Please be aware of the content warnings before picking this up, and stay safe!
Pub date: June 1, 2021
In the wake of their brother's death, Liam has to contend with his grief, tensions between them and their parents, and faltering friendships. Told through multiple points and time before and after Ethan's death, this is a story of grief and reconciliation and understanding more about others and yourself.
Firstly, I'd like to say that Mason Deaver has done it again and their writing is still absolutely phenomenal. It's heart-wrenching, deep, and provides so much food for thought. I really enjoyed reading about Liam's journey and how they reconciled with what happened to his brother. I think this story has so much going for it and communicates feelings of grief that are often glanced over in books. It really gave me a lot of feelings.
There were two things about this book that kept me from giving it a full 5 star rating. The first one was something that I'm not sure will be in the finished version or not. Liam is nonbinary and uses they/them and he/him pronouns. They expressed that he doesn't like to be called "son," "guy/dude/man/boy/etc". To me, someone with those preferences typically also wouldn't like the word "brother" for themselves, and would prefer "sibling" or something else. Now, obviously if the character is okay with "brother," then that is totally valid. My thought process here is that it is actually not obvious if Liam is okay with this or not, as there are other times in the book when someone calls him a name they are not okay with, and he decides to let it go. This makes me wonder if the times Liam was referred to as brother were a mistake? Or if maybe it just needed to be explicitly stated that he wasn't okay with those other terms, but was okay with this one.
The other thing I took issue with was more of a personal note: there is a very graphic and detailed scene of self-harm in this book. Personally, I didn't think that scene was necessary to the plot or the story, or even fit well with Liam's character up to that point. I honestly wish this chapter hadn't been included, or at least that I had known ahead of time and skipped it myself. After I had finished reading, I looked on the author's website and saw that they do mention it as a content warning for this book. I wish it had been written at the beginning of the book along with other content warnings, as I feel many readers are not in the practice of checking websites before reading a book.
All in all, I really did enjoy this book, although I think the personally triggering content for me will keep me from reading it again. Please be aware of the content warnings before picking this up, and stay safe!
Pub date: June 1, 2021
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts
misgendering
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