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fernash's review against another edition
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cancer, Chronic illness, Child death, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Blood, Car accident, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cursing, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Drug use, Suicide attempt, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts
Pedophilia tag for mention in joke, no pedophilia actually occurs.manta_moony's review against another edition
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
4.25
Really good story, could be a bit repetitive at times. The male characters had this annoying trait of of talking about women a bit weirdly but it’s easy to look past it. The main protagonist was very likeable and the multiple perspectives was done really well
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Child death, Cancer, Death, and Grief
magazine_euphemism's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death and Car accident
Moderate: Terminal illness and Cancer
witchleaves's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Child death, Suicide, and Medical content
Moderate: Cancer, Gaslighting, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Suicide attempt
aploinard's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness and Cancer
Moderate: Child death and Grief
hannah_beth_charles's review against another edition
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
I found myself skipping paragraphs because some of the metaphors were so boring and unnecessary that I found it was a waste of time. I also hated Picoult's writing style and the way she made the men's POVs full of vulgar language or shallow thoughts, like "boys will be boys". I think that Anna's death was Jesse's punishment for starting fires and putting other's lives at risk. It's not fair for him to just be let off without punishment. The ending was quite surprising but and almost lazy. There's no way that Anna would have an unstrained relationship with her parents after she tried to sue them, and Kate's death would be blamed on Anna. Anna needed to die for the story to conclude. Kate becoming a ballet teacher is unrealistic and I know it was her dream, but she hadn't done ballet before, and ballet isn't a sport you can just do. It takes years of training. I couldn't care less Campbell and Julia's relationship. They're both toxic and Julia is desperate to be different. Julias losing her virginity on a gravestone was just odd. I hated that throughout the novel, Sara was trying to be redeemed as a good mother or at least trying her best in a complicated situation. She had Anna just to save Kate. She probably wouldn't have had Anna if Kate wasn't sick. What irked me most was at the end when she said that she would send her one child in a fire to save the other child and she was willing to risk losing them both. That is so selfish because Sara sacrificing their lives. That's not fair and is plain wrong. She is not put in any danger.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Cancer, Car accident, Child death, Medical content, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Blood, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief
Minor: Alcohol and Addiction
_janellealexa's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, and Terminal illness
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
madilikestoread's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.5
The ending was very unexpected! I cried multiple times, especially near the end of the novel. I loved that there’s multiple POV’s as well as Kate and Anna’s relationship. Overall, this is a beautiful book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death, Cancer, and Child death
Moderate: Car accident and Suicide
sarahbroccoli's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Death, Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Medical content
giuliana_ferrari's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
This book is an interesting ethical discussion on the implications of engineering a baby to serve as your child's donor. And although the borderline obsessive reasonings from the mother of the dying child are exposed in subtle and not so subtle moments, I felt like the author didn't want to take it as far as agreeing that Sara was in fact a bad mother. The road to hell is paved with good intentions, but both mother and father made it clear throughout the book their terrible choices that led to a young man becoming an arsonist and a younger child becoming nothing more than a petri dish to save the other sister's life. No matter how strongly they tried to defend themselves in their narratives, they neglected their older child for the sake of the sick one and literally designed a baby to serve a specific purpose. That's why I'm so bothered by the ending: Anna dies so Kate can live, and suddenly the mother is all grieving and suffering and wishing she could have Anna back, although she slapped her child for suing them and ignored and neglected her son . Although I understand their situation was a terrible, unpredictable, emotionally exhausting one, the family basically gave me a crash course in what not to do when you have more than one child and one is severely ill. And in all of this the author seemed content in defending the parents and voicing that a mother would do anything for their child, even if that means being a terrible parent. On and all the book could have gone to a deeper discussion of morals and rights of choice, but instead focused a bit too much on the soap-opera moments of cancer devastating a white middle-class family with religious undertones. Am I being unsympathetic? Maybe. But it could have been much more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Cancer, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Child death