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hellsjerome's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror and Grief
Moderate: Suicide and Terminal illness
corabookworm's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
4.0
(Might write a more sensible review later we'll see.)
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Body horror, Terminal illness, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Medical content
beth_farrelly'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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Confinement
Moderate: Death, Dementia, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Body horror
Minor: Gaslighting, Gore, Violence, and Suicide
thebetterstory's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Leah and Miri aren't badly written, but I had the same issue as I often do with modern literary fiction, which is that everyone felt a bit interchangeable. Yes, they had carefully specified quirks, and their backstories and families were developed. All those elements were there, but in the end they felt pretty much interchangeable aside from those. The same goes for the rest of the cast. Names would appear in the story, and despite how short the book was I couldn't honestly tell you who Sam or any of the rest of them were or when they'd been introduced, specifically.
Similarly, if you asked me to name a character trait for either of the leads, it would have to be "nice" for Leah, which you know mostly because the book and Miri tell you so, and...I really don't know for Miri, actually. Withdrawn, maybe, or cold. They have all those insightful human moments grafted onto them and their stories, but they never really feel like they make the narrative theirs, which also makes the romance—which does have its poignant moments—feel a touch bland as well.
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Death of parent, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Lesbophobia, Alcohol, and Ableism
mamatrauma's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Vomit, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death, Sexual content, Terminal illness, and Blood
torismazarine's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Self harm, Terminal illness, Body horror, Cursing, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Grief, Suicide, Confinement, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Chronic illness, and Eating disorder
hedsek's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, and Body horror
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Death, Vomit, Eating disorder, and Terminal illness
Minor: Death of parent, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Gore, Homophobia, Chronic illness, and Emotional abuse
Eye stuffbeccaand's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Grief, Confinement, Terminal illness, Mental illness, and Death
Moderate: Death of parent and Suicide
Minor: Lesbophobia
fatfatrat'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? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Terminal illness, Death of parent, Grief, Body horror, and Death
Minor: Lesbophobia and Vomit
simplyabird'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? Yes
5.0
I loved the very descriptive and flowery language, and from the start Leah and Miri were so realistic and relatable that, even being aroace, I immediately fell in love with both of them and their relationship. I was never more interested in one of the POVs over the other, never felt like it was dragging or going to quick.
I was okay with the mystery not being really answered, because I knew and accepted it as an allegory and felt more involved with the relationship than the mystery, through it was still incredibly interesting. Personally, I think if you've ever dealt with grief and depression, you'll be a lot less bothered by not having gotten all of the answers to the mystery.
Graphic: Body horror, Grief, and Mental illness
Moderate: Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Death