Scan barcode
dez_blair's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Rape, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, and Mental illness
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, and Infidelity
alymarsh's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This book takes you on a journey of love and loss and everything in between. A cute journey of a start of a realationship where they can rely on the person to just listen and be there. At the end of the book I was to the point screaming for them to just go to therapy though please.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Rape, Racism, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Car accident, Grief, Infidelity, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Body shaming
Minor: Child death and Islamophobia
spellboundchapters's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-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
3.5
1st read: December 2020 — 3.5 stars
2nd read: May 2022 — 3.5 stars
2nd read: May 2022 — 3.5 stars
“Over the years, Penny inhaled the classics — Ready Player One, Dune, and Ender’s Game, though it wasn’t until she was introduced to Messiah, ironically from a guy who was the worst dude in the history of dudes, that she realized sci-fi didn’t have to be so… boy. (…) From then on Penny’s stories centered around women and girls. There wasn’t even a special trick. You wrote it exactly as you would for a guy, but you made pain thresholds higher since girls have to put up with more in the world and give them more empathy, which makes everything riskier.”
Yeppp, I still like it as much as I did the first time 🥺
Yes, Penny is deeply flawed, but I always find flawed characters way more interesting to follow, and I can see a lot of past me in her… I’m still unsure if it’s a good thing or not. 😂 And I love the character development she gets throughout the book! The moment where she bonds with Jude and Mallory at the beach is my favourite scene 🥰
I loved to witness Sam and Penny’s friendship/romance blossom, and Mary H.K. Choi writes teenagers/young adults so perfectly! I feel like authors often struggle to make their dialogs sound realistic, but she always nails it — they didn’t sound cheesy nor cringy at all, and neither did the text messages. I think a lot of us will resonate with the way that this book focuses on virtual relationships, and how you can sometimes be more yourself when talking to someone via messages rather than in person. (Or maybe that's just us socially awkward butterflies.)
“So yeah no IRL for me
Why break the fourth wall?”
“No point
We’re perfect in here”
I have nothing to say about Sam except that he’s perfect. And that I want to taste his pastries (yes, if you can bake you're automatically very attractive to me).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
Minor: Racism
More...