Reviews with content warning for Death - You Exist Too Much

There is really no plot to this book. It is essentially a series of affairs and was honestly quite boring. (I honestly feel bad describing it this way because I really, really wanted to like it, but that's what it was.)

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the_vegan_bookworm's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

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

4.0

This book tackles a lot of deep issues, like addiction, eating disorders, abusive parents and coming to terms with sexuality and with trauma. The author does a great job at tackling these heavy and difficult subjects throughout the book, while incorporating beautiful prose and creating interesting characters.

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whatannikareads's review against another edition

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reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

i feel like incredibly neutral about this book, which i think could be worse than actively hating or loving this book. some of the pros about this book: i liked that the bisexual main character wasn't super stereotypical and clunky. for lack of a better way to put it, she felt normal in that she wasn't made to be an anomaly solely based on her queerness.

i enjoyed the short in-between chapters that took us into her palestinian heritage and childhood memories.

that being said, this book felt very fragmented, as if there were three different plot lines that weren't really woven together seamlessly. the writing is in first person, which made it feel a bit too simplistic--telling rather than showing. a bit past halfway, it just felt like the author was listing her relationships without going into enough depth for me to care. and the main character herself isn't really likable; she doesn't necessarily have to be, but it was hard for me to see the point in why she was dealing with the conflicts in her life. the ending just kind of ended, and didn't make me feel emotional or anything.

i think there were too many conflicts the author wanted to focus on--the strained relationship with her mother (which i wish we saw more of), her love addiction rehab journey, her toxic role in her relationships-- and i think the author would've benefitted from sticking to one or two conflicts and building a more linear plot around them.

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