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errie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, and Classism
Moderate: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
cleotheo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.75
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Infidelity, Suicide, and Death of parent
Minor: Eating disorder and Panic attacks/disorders
cas_dot_com's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Injury/Injury detail
everythingeatsandiseaten's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
much of contemporary romance, especially from the 2000s and onwards feels like a wet dream— on one hand you have dark romance & monster smut, in the middle the absolute disgrace of colleen hoover, and on the other you get esoteric nonsense that fosters individuality through romanticizing mental illness and trauma.
not to say normal people is the extreme fault of the latter at all; i’d say the biggest fault i find is within its predictability, although i wasn’t quite expecting originality from a booktok recommended novel! to give credit where credit is due, i thought rooney did a wonderful job of creating a realistic romance, however idyllic. she has so much capability with dialogue and the natural cadences of body language and movement and conversation, which is beautiful for preserving culture in a time where human nature and behavior has advanced so much and become so complex!
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
texanriot's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse and Suicide
fbc_2122's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse and Alcohol
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy
miilk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Racism
Minor: Death of parent
itsaromance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
waytoomanybooks's review against another edition
- 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
3.0
Marianne and Connell’s relationship is so fascinating though. It is so incredibly toxic, yet they clearly belong together at the same time. I think that their relationship is realistically portrayed, and I could sympathize with one or the other of them at different stages in their lives and their relationship. I think that is a testament to Rooney’s writing: feeling like I want/need to evaluate the characters, to pick a side, and to sympathize and empathize with them and why.
However, I hated the ending. Ambiguous endings infuriate me, especially when the ambiguity suggests what it suggests here. We’re really ending with
Before I read the last ⅓ of the book, I was expecting to give it a 4 out of 5, but seeing Marianne’s storyline and the ending get fumbled leads me to give it a 3 out of 5.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
strawbert's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Summed up: Attemping to strike a balance between hope/understanding/independence and misery/shame while coming-of-age.
Graphic: Bullying and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail