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kbweis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Child death, Outing, Sexual assault, Suicide, Deadnaming, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Murder, Grief, Hate crime, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Suicide attempt, Death, and Homophobia
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Car accident
annabelreadsandwrites'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
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Death, Deadnaming, Violence, Toxic relationship, Outing, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Murder, Misogyny, Medical content, Gaslighting, and Child abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Cursing, Torture, Blood, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Stalking, and Car accident
emmagalt's review against another edition
- 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
This book tries to do far too much and it suffers because of that. The authors needed to pick one hobby, but there are so many tangents about Lily fencing, playing cello, absorbing facts, as well as Olivia keeping bees that it becomes boring and skimmable.
More than that they needed to pick one trauma. If you try to have a book about murder, domestic abuse, transphobia, suicide, self-harm, abortion, racism in the justic system, etc, then none of the topics are covered with the grace and nuance they deserve. The marginalised characters in the book like Selena and Elizabeth felt like educational tropes pulled from inspirational quotes than 3D people with lived experience.
I felt that the parts about Lily's transition was beautifully written and informative. This book could have been such a positive platform to talk about the love and support she was given to transform as a teenager, and the benefits of being able to act on this choice so young so that she could live as her authentic self for the majority of her life. Unfortunately, this was used as a plot twist to offer motive for Lily's death, instead of a full story about Lily's life.
Finally, the main plot of the book was the trial, but the case and arguments were so weak because too much focus was put on trying (and I think failing) to make the characters seem murky and mysterious.
Such a shame because I always love Jodi Picoult books, but this just didn't do it for me.
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Graphic: Child abuse, Bullying, Violence, Dysphoria, Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Death, Deadnaming, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Outing, Medical content, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Physical abuse, Murder, Hate crime, Transphobia, Body shaming, Suicide, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Car accident and Abortion
stephanieswilley's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Transphobia
Moderate: Alcohol, Pregnancy, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Suicide, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, and Murder
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Blood, Car accident, and Outing
norwegianforestreader'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
4.0
Graphic: Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Bullying, Car accident, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Cursing, Child abuse, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Murder, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Deadnaming, Body shaming, Suicide attempt, Grief, Forced institutionalization, and Death
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Deadnaming, Child abuse, Grief, Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Death, Hate crime, Dysphoria, Gaslighting, Self harm, Transphobia, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Confinement, Death of parent, Animal death, Car accident, Stalking, Animal cruelty, Infidelity, Medical content, Alcohol, and Sexual content