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storyale's review
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Murder, and Sexual violence
The characters are believable, and if you have a soul and an open mind, you can empathize and understand without necessarily being in agreement.lizama's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
sad
fast-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Mental illness, Alcohol, Gun violence, Body shaming, Bullying, Fatphobia, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Murder, Police brutality, Self harm, Sexual content, and Addiction
jcstokes95's review
challenging
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
*Read this review at your own risk. It is not nice.*
I mean, this book has really inspired a rage I did not know could be unlocked in me. A few weeks ago, I watched a booktuber talk about how she hated books that emotionally manipulated the reader and I didn’t really know what she meant. But, THIS BOOK is the most emotionally manipulative, exploitative thing I have ever read; so much so it borders on dangerous.
I believe the author was trying to open up a dialogue on suicide as a choice, writing about how we should have ownership over our own bodies. An interesting topic for sure, and the premise intrigued me. I didn’t expect it to be uncontroversial, but holy shit. It becomes clear that the author might be muddy on his own message. It seems like choice is the point, but then in the last page we get Karen giving this completely out of left field speech about how their writing will serve as a warning to people to turn back from suicide which is …. she opposite of what she thought the whole book, and the opposite of, well, 6 hours previously. It was jarring and after school special-esque. Which isn’t a surprise, because much of the book had the depth of an after school special.
The book serves as a shallow exploration of all the reasons a person might kill themselves. Because there are so many characters, we never get to breathe and really understand their motivations. So, in the end, the reasons are….I am fat…I have a chronic illness…I am an addict…I was abused. The thing is, because everything is so surface, I feel the book runs the risk of, justifying suicide for these groups of people. And it certainly doesn’t tell their full stories. To my knowledge, the author is none of these things and it is painfully obvious. These people do not talk or act suicidal (I understand there are a multitude of ways to act when mentally ill, but…omg). They seem to be….completely emotionally detached from their plan, which detached me as a reader.
But, I have to say, I’m glad that I learned to detach throughout this book. Because it is essentially self-indulgent trauma porn. There are two on page gang rapes. Just, to be clear, there are TWO on page gang rapes. I really should not have to say more than that. But, WHY? Why? I don’t get it. Someone please tell me why?! And they get MAD at one person for being victimized? Fucking WHY?
I feel like the content of the book is reason enough to send me into a thousand years of rage. But, while we’re here…the writing quality, pacing, and characterization is also whack. Chock the bad characterization up to not know how to write a bipolar person, Black person, fat person, etc. But the pacing was truly weird, I felt like we were always on little paths to nowhere. And then the end happens in an absolute mad dash. I am also, deeply confused by the writing style. I will commend one thing…he does manage to separate a lot of character’s voices…in the start, this fades as time passes. And every once and a while, there will be a great section of writing. And then three pages later, it will be very, tumblr girl writes prose poem. I am not sure if this is meant to match character voice or is actually author intent to infuse wisdom. Either way…WHACK.
I hope the author does not see his mission aligning with Karen’s ending speech. If he believes this could ever be anything other than a minefield of triggers for suicidal reader, he may be nuts. A real shame, I had really looked forward to reading a novel from him after reading another beautiful piece of his writing. But, sometimes, life is disappointing, and your reading choices make you want to jump off a cliff.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicide, and Addiction
Moderate: Murder
This is a read at your own risk book. I do not think it delicately handles it's subject matter and recommend caution.sarahwong's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.0
Mark, a depressingly unsuccessful writer, posts an invitation online for a cross-country suicide road trip. Aboard an old tour bus with a hired driver named Dylan (who has no intention of dying; he’s quite literally just there to drive), they pick up hopeless individuals as they journey to San Francisco where they plan to yeet off a cliff to their willful demise.
Written in a multimedia format, this story is dark, hilarious, adventurous, and filled with friendship and love, sometimes all within the same page. Through journal entries, emails, and voice recordings, the reader is offered a glimpse into each characters’ unique voice, though some are more fleshed out than others. There's a notable absence of a first-person narration from Dylan, since only the passengers keep journals as a condition of their participation, which is unfortunate as he's one of the most interesting characters in the story. Plot-wise, there were a few events that were questionable, though the overall story and the interesting premise were still enjoyable.
Needless to say, this book necessitates trigger warnings for suicidality and assisted suicide, in addition to sexual violence and self-harm. Though this is not a book for the mainstream (particularly those in vulnerable mental states), I appreciated that the author didn’t hold back in his discussion of these touchy topics, nor was he exceedingly preachy in a self-help kind of way. As someone with a history of suicidal ideation, I really appreciated that this story sympathized with the accompanying emotions and thought processes, their complexities, and the importance of autonomy. It’s a perspective you don’t hear too often, but one I’m really glad I stumbled upon.
Thank you to NetGalley, Simon & Schuster Canada, and J. Michael Straczynski for providing this digital ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Sexual violence
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