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anspringel's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
I read Glasgow’s first book “Girl in pieces” back when I was 16. The subject triggered me but I couldnt put it down.
Now 7 years later I started this one wondering maybe I was fascinated by the first book way too much since I had different standards.
I was wrong. It took me a day to finish this one. The writing style is beautiful and makes you see from the eyes of the main character and feel her every emotion.
I think it must be a hard task to keep the reader hooked when you’re writing about such a challenging subject and miss. Glasgow did pretty well.
One thing that I love both about You’d be home now and Girl in pieces, is that the ending is not like a fairy tail. It’s realistic. It’s not necessary sad but it’s not hero-ish either. The characters make mistakes, the mistakes you think that are gonna mess them up even more and it happens but you’ll learn it’s ok. I suggest this to anyone who feels like they’re facing a deadend. There are triggers and tears, even with that, I felt I’d be fine to panic a little.
Definitely a favorite!
Now 7 years later I started this one wondering maybe I was fascinated by the first book way too much since I had different standards.
I was wrong. It took me a day to finish this one. The writing style is beautiful and makes you see from the eyes of the main character and feel her every emotion.
I think it must be a hard task to keep the reader hooked when you’re writing about such a challenging subject and miss. Glasgow did pretty well.
One thing that I love both about You’d be home now and Girl in pieces, is that the ending is not like a fairy tail. It’s realistic. It’s not necessary sad but it’s not hero-ish either. The characters make mistakes, the mistakes you think that are gonna mess them up even more and it happens but you’ll learn it’s ok. I suggest this to anyone who feels like they’re facing a deadend. There are triggers and tears, even with that, I felt I’d be fine to panic a little.
Definitely a favorite!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death, Addiction, Sexual harassment, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Car accident, Grief, and Bullying
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer, Child abuse, Medical content, and Medical trauma
blckbird's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident and Death
Moderate: Drug abuse, Grief, and Addiction
Minor: Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Bullying
kdawgreads69's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
i just love anything that kathleen glasgow writes she gives such a detailed, realistic description of important issues, in this case drug addiction. it was difficult for me to get through at first because it reminded me so much of my own life but once i managed it its such a beautiful book that details the things you dont see from other people. it made me cry several times and is definitely in my top 3 books towards the end when max calls emory and they find joey is such a beautiful scene. the way that joey was relieved to see max to know he would call her felt so good after all the horrible shit he probably experienced during the 45 days he was missing. i was just so happy that after all that time he was able to not just get help and accept it as well. such a good ending to Joey’s story. Their father also kind of appearing after essentially not being there for the majority of the book was satisfying as well and the way he opened up their hearts to the people struggling and used their money for something good to help people like Joey, such amazing character development i loved this book so much
Content Warnings
Moderate: Blood, Classism, Death, Sexism, Bullying, Drug abuse, Grief, Addiction, Body shaming, and Car accident
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Cancer
booksandcat's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, and Car accident
Moderate: Cancer and Sexual content
romajstorovic's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
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
5.0
When I finished this book I cried for nearly twenty minutes. I’d already been crying for a long time before that. This book hits incredibly close to home and managed to smack you right in the face with such incredible realism and emotion. Almost everything Joey and Emmy said and thought - throughout the book, yes, but particularly right at the very end - struck such a note with me. I fell in love with Joey almost instantly because he was like me. He was messed up and unsure of how to help himself, and this was shown in such a real and honest way that I couldn’t help but love him. Emmy, too; the way she’s desperate to help her brother despite the fact that there’s really nothing she can do is so raw and painful. Absolutely incredible, and a book I will be pushing onto as many people as I physically can.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Drug abuse, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Grief, Car accident, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual violence
Minor: Suicide, Self harm, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Panic attacks/disorders, and Medical content
_jasper_394's review against another edition
emotional
funny
lighthearted
sad
fast-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
2.0
It was an okay book. This book was very much YA but with mature content which didnt make much sense. I wanted to read it for it's dark subjects and themes but the language and sentence development felt so mundane and boring like something of a young children's book. These two aspects didn't really fit since the darkness didn't go well with the lack of literary devices. Overall this book was okay but there wasn't much plot development and the writing wasn't that good.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Addiction, and Drug abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying
Minor: Suicide and Cancer
booksofautumn's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Cancer, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Addiction, Alcohol, Body shaming, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexual content
danaaliyalevinson's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.25
So, I admittedly went into this one not realizing it's YA, which is not my genre. That said, considering this as a YA book, I think it's an important read about teenage addiction and its impact on families that many teenagers are going to feel seen in.
I was also heartened by its brave ending that refused to give easy answers, and even further heartened by the author's note explaining her own addiction and sobriety journey, which is most certainly a big part of why, for me, as someone who also has a history of addiction and several years sober at this point, the narrative felt so honest.
Sometimes it did feel like that YA thing where an adult author is imagining what kids these days are like and it's not quite right.
But overall, a good read and I think an important YA entry.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Classism, Car accident, Drug abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
wishyouweresober's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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
This book broke my heart in so many ways. Justice for Emory and Joey...they just deserve to be happy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Mental illness, Car accident, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Grief, Sexism, Death, and Death of parent
Minor: Sexual content
This book deals with A LOT of triggering things. So please check the warnings before reading.agchalle's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
2.0
I think the premise of this book has a lot of potential. A story about how addiction can shape a family is powerful, and the parts of the book that touch on that are good and moving. Emmy's family's stress and anxiety around Joey's addiction, the way they try to cope with death and pain, and Emmy's deep love for Joey feel very raw and real.
However, the rest of the book falls flat. The characterization of Emmy's high school experience is incredibly trite. Every character seems almost like a stereotype. Emmy hating the girl that has one interaction with her, maybe two lines of dialogue all together, because she is pretty and likes the same popular boy Emmy likes? Come on. The parts about shoplifting and The Portrait of a Lady seem to be out of place/not well used as compelling parts of characterization. I found the introduction to Emmy's former best friend to be clunky - all you know is Emmy's mother ended the friendship and the reader is left to wonder if the wealthy, strict, appearance-focused mother is also racist or if something else happened. You don't find out the truth until ~100 pages later, but the way it's left wide open does not do Emmy and her family any favors for sympathy.
A lot of potential, but several times throughout the book I thought things weren't necessary or wondering how much longer the book was going to go on. If Emmy's interactions with her siblings was kept, and 70% of the other material was cut/reworked, it wouldn't have been so flat.
However, the rest of the book falls flat. The characterization of Emmy's high school experience is incredibly trite. Every character seems almost like a stereotype. Emmy hating the girl that has one interaction with her, maybe two lines of dialogue all together, because she is pretty and likes the same popular boy Emmy likes? Come on. The parts about shoplifting and The Portrait of a Lady seem to be out of place/not well used as compelling parts of characterization. I found the introduction to Emmy's former best friend to be clunky - all you know is Emmy's mother ended the friendship and the reader is left to wonder if the wealthy, strict, appearance-focused mother is also racist or if something else happened. You don't find out the truth until ~100 pages later, but the way it's left wide open does not do Emmy and her family any favors for sympathy.
A lot of potential, but several times throughout the book I thought things weren't necessary or wondering how much longer the book was going to go on. If Emmy's interactions with her siblings was kept, and 70% of the other material was cut/reworked, it wouldn't have been so flat.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Death, and Grief