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amyrose23's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Violence, and Rape
celinbean's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Child abuse
Moderate: Alcoholism, Death of parent, Vomit, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Infidelity
Minor: Racial slurs
jcinf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
First, I appreciated the portrayal of tokenism and racism in LGBTQ+ spaces.
Two things I had mixed feelings toward (I promise no spoilers):
- Wallace’s friend group felt “meh” at best. I get that the author probably wanted to portray Wallace as being an outcast in his group. I know that’s the core part of the narrative here. ** BUT, I couldn’t tell… was Wallace having a hard time reconciling his friends’ problematic qualities against their redeemable traits? Or were they just shitty people that he became “friends” with solely out of proximity? It was well written, but I would have appreciated more clarity on this.
- Wallace’s dynamic with another character in the book. I won’t say who so I don’t spoil it. It’s hard for authors to walk the line between glorifying abuse and simply portraying it. I think in large pet he just portrayed in, but in certain parts I felt like it was getting perhaps a little close to romanticizing it. The second to last chapter brought those feelings up for me.
Overall, though, I felt largely positively about this book. A handful of the things I liked:
- The descriptiveness was stunning.
- The dialogue was realistic and appropriately emotional.
- The depiction of nuanced grief and the way some people try to simplify it.
- This one is a loose spoiler as far as character growth, but doesn’t reveal any specific plot points.
The acknowledgment that Wallace can be self-absorbed. Butttt also giving him wiggle room to be that way because of his intersecting struggles due to his sexuality, race, economic class, and generally feeling behind in his academics. .
As a whole, this book was wonderfully written. But it wasn’t really an enjoyable read because it was so damn sad lol.
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Body horror, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Eating disorder, Infidelity, and Racism
krobart's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Sexual content and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Rape
mckinleyj's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Racism, Violence, Homophobia, and Racial slurs
Minor: Sexism
calamitywindpetal's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Homophobia
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Fatphobia
looneytunes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racism, Violence, Vomit, Sexual assault, Rape, and Homophobia
Moderate: Eating disorder
loureadsthem's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Sexual assault, Child abuse, Racism, Violence, and Death of parent
katdid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, and Violence
Moderate: Racism and Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death
_fallinglight_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Racism, Violence, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, Rape, and Vomit
Moderate: Racial slurs, Eating disorder, and Homophobia
Minor: Infidelity