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orlafitz14's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Bullying, Sexual assault, Drug abuse, Grief, Rape, Vomit, Death, Physical abuse, Blood, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Classism, Gore, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Animal death, Miscarriage, Murder, and Sexual violence
rainyghost's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Violence, Child abuse, Death, Murder, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Addiction, Drug use, Drug abuse, Stalking, Gaslighting, Excrement, Emotional abuse, and Bullying
kiwij96's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The concept for this book is well thought-out: Alex is a young girl plagued by ghosts, both metaphorical and literal, who finds herself with a free pass to one of the most prestigious universities as a result of her gift, and also where finds herself in the midst of at least 3 murder mysteries. However, at times the chapters were too long, paragraphs too clunky or generally too wordy. Her roommate characters were also super forgettable and definitely plot devices.
I would highly recommend checking your trigger warnings for this because there are some heavy topics and triggering scenes in here if you are unprepared.
Graphic: Drug use, Addiction, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Drug abuse, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Grief, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Medical content, Misogyny, and Vomit
erupoo's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Pedophilia, Murder, Blood, Drug use, Bullying, Misogyny, Child abuse, Vomit, Abandonment, Body horror, and Drug abuse
subtlyfurious's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The first few chapters are excellent (and the only reason I’m giving this book any stars). Bardugo weaves the character’s personalities and worldviews and backgrounds into the action flawlessly while also setting up a number of compelling topical themes.
It’s all downhill from there.
To me this feels like a YA book made “adult” by throwing in a bunch of disturbing content in for shock value alone. At first, I tried to give Bardugo the benefit of the doubt, believing she’d be able to give us a reason for why things weren’t just graphic, but borderline (or maybe fully) pornographic. But no. She fails to explore anything on a deeper level, speaking about complex issues such as classism, racism, and sexism without doing any work to ever dip below the surface. In fact, her ability to swerve away from actually choosing a side and stating an opinion is almost impressive.
Still, I pressed on thinking “surely Bardugo will find a way to wrap this up in a somewhat satisfying way.”
No.
The last 15% is a slog and (spoilers) the who that dunnit turn out to be both the most boring who-you-expect and the most throwaway character.
Graphic: Sexual violence, Child abuse, Excrement, Death, Racism, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Medical trauma, Murder, and Classism
mylazybones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Bullying and Murder
Minor: Classism and Racism
mc_castle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Rape, Torture, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Bullying, Colonisation, Death, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Gun violence, Blood, Classism, Mental illness, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, and Drug abuse
trippyotter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Addiction, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Drug abuse, and Rape
fionamclary's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
A couple minor but significant complaints:
I found that Dawes was autism-coded, and that the way Alex describes her initially indicated that Alex dislikes her for her autistic traits. She seems annoyed by her adherence to rules, alienated by her single-minded focus, put off by her ever-present headphones and favoring the same comfortable clothes.
Graphic: Body horror, Classism, Gore, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Blood, Murder, Drug abuse, Violence, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Bullying, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, and Vomit
Minor: Terminal illness and Cancer
hiddenfallacies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Rape, Violence, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, and Drug use
Minor: Bullying, Classism, Racism, and Vomit