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anainthecastle's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Homophobia, and Emotional abuse
hexedmaiden's review
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
3.75
I feel if I read this in high school it would have made a major impact on me. It was still a great read as an adult. All the characters were so great and I loved our main character Freddy, and seeing her struggling with her toxic on and off again ex Laura Dean. I absolutely relate to some of her struggles with a toxic relationship and having other people in my life see what I can’t and then being able to take a step back and realize that person is no good for me.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Abortion, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia and Vomit
koplomps's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Don't have other words for it, but I just really loved, and felt this. Made me slow down and feel my feelings.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Abortion
Minor: Homophobia
crdjrose's review
emotional
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Infidelity
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Homophobia
drtx_bwt's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infidelity, Adult/minor relationship, and Abortion
Minor: Homophobia, Lesbophobia, and Pregnancy
aliceayork's review
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.5
This book is so cute! Watch Freddie grow and realize how horribly LD was treating her is fun to read, and with a beautiful art style it keeps you engaged. All the characters are loveable and its such an easy read.
I wish Doddles story had more foreshadowing but other than that I loved it.
I wish Doddles story had more foreshadowing but other than that I loved it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Pregnancy and Emotional abuse
Minor: Homophobia
kajasversion's review against another edition
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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
3.0
A solid read. The main character is on times such a shitty person. But noone beats Laura. Their decisions made me so pissed of. The character writing is definitely written for a more younger audience but then the themes in the book are serious like homophobia and abortion. I’m confused.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Abortion, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Vomit
ferdie's review
emotional
hopeful
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? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Abortion
Minor: Homophobia
loverofeels's review
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
stunning art!! the plot sucked me in at first, but the first 3/4 of this was repetitive enough that it started to get tiresome. it kinda became a cycle of "laura acts unpredictably" --> "freddy responds accordingly, treating her friends badly in the process" --> "her friends are understandably angry" --> repeat. the scenes with freddy's parents and those with eric and buddy felt kind of random, since the plotlines with her mom being annoyed, eric being bullied, etc were unresolved. i'm not sure whether those scenes were intended to paint a picture of her life as a whole or to serve as a foil to freddy and laura's relationship, but either way it didn't work for me.
i also don't love that freddy's one act of standing up for herself—breaking up with laura—only came after reading the email from the advice columnist. it would have been nice to see her come to that realization on her own and have a few honest conversations with laura and her family, rather than having a moment of bravery and suddenly everything's fine.
a lotta negativity in this review, but i honestly didn't hate this. the author does a good job depicting teenage emotions in a realistic way and the illustrations are certainly easy on the eyes. just leaves something to be desired.
i also don't love that freddy's one act of standing up for herself—breaking up with laura—only came after reading the email from the advice columnist. it would have been nice to see her come to that realization on her own and have a few honest conversations with laura and her family, rather than having a moment of bravery and suddenly everything's fine.
a lotta negativity in this review, but i honestly didn't hate this. the author does a good job depicting teenage emotions in a realistic way and the illustrations are certainly easy on the eyes. just leaves something to be desired.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship
Moderate: Abortion, Infidelity, and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit, Alcohol, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia
sweetsxrrxw's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
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? Yes
4.25
one thing i absolutely love to see nowadays in cartoons or comics is diverse characters <3 i don't care if they're extras, seeing hijabis or pocs makes me truly happy :') so yeah, in terms of diversity, this is a 10/10. also the illustrations were really pretty and the pink theme was lovely <3
as to the plot, i love how the story deals with different serious topics. the main one is toxic relationships and how it affects the main character and, eventually, her friendships. laura dean is a perfect example of what a toxic and manipulative partner looks like. this story is basically about slowly being able to cut the person who's hurting you off.
and yeah, i know it is just a graphic novel and that it should only have one focus but there were some other subplots which would have been very interesting to see such as chris and buddy's relationship and how they managed to go through their ups and downs or, more importantly, doodle's process of abortion.
however i am aware that this story had one important theme and the author decided to stick to it. that's why really liked that, even though a possible romance with vi was hinted, it was never shown. it's cool that they focused on solely the toxic relationship and the happiness you feel after so many downs and after being able to acknowledge your worth and finally let go
so yeah, this is a really nice read and i encourage every teen who has ever gone through a toxic relationship to read it! :)
ps: another thing i'd like to mention is how the story didn't have any straight token friends. everyone around freddy's circle is queer
as to the plot, i love how the story deals with different serious topics. the main one is toxic relationships and how it affects the main character and, eventually, her friendships. laura dean is a perfect example of what a toxic and manipulative partner looks like. this story is basically about slowly being able to cut the person who's hurting you off.
and yeah, i know it is just a graphic novel and that it should only have one focus but there were some other subplots which would have been very interesting to see
however i am aware that this story had one important theme and the author decided to stick to it. that's why really liked that, even though a possible romance with vi was hinted, it was never shown. it's cool that they focused on solely the toxic relationship and the happiness you feel after so many downs and after being able to acknowledge your worth and finally let go
so yeah, this is a really nice read and i encourage every teen who has ever gone through a toxic relationship to read it! :)
ps: another thing i'd like to mention is how the story didn't have any straight token friends. everyone around freddy's circle is queer
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy
Minor: Vomit and Homophobia