Scan barcode
redandread_'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death of parent and Terminal illness
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Racism
thejesster's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Chronic illness and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia, Gaslighting, Death of parent, Classism, Death, Bullying, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Panic attacks/disorders, Lesbophobia, and Grief
elizabethwb's review
- 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
4.0
Moderate: Death of parent, Outing, Biphobia, Homophobia, Chronic illness, Lesbophobia, and Transphobia
Minor: Racism, Death of parent, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Blood, Grief, Vomit, and Bullying
ruthypoo2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
The young tone of the book was well done, but I could barely get past the blatant disregard for correct use of personal pronouns. Yeah, I realize how many people don’t understand (or care) whether they should use me or I, but at least have grammatically correct sentences in popular reading material to help them learn. Of course , this is a personal gripe, but it affected my enjoyment of the story because of how frequently I was annoyed by and grumbling to myself about sentences like, “Me and Jim headed over to the cafeteria.”
Although this story is packed full of teen romcom cliches, it was a good story with mostly interesting characters. With that said, the focus was really on the experiences and emotions of the main character, Liz Lighty, and the other characters were not as fully developed, unfortunately. They seemed to be either stereotypical mean kids, goofy kids, misunderstood kids, and the high school relationships were often complicated by misunderstandings. But at the heart of the book were teens, and some adults, who came through for each other in the end and did not share the prejudices of their elders.
In a nutshell, Liz is going through the familiar teen struggles of dealing with the death of a parent, managing her younger brother’s chronic disease, trying to figure out how to pay for her college education, getting past the racial biases in her high school, developing a romantic crush on the cool girl who’s new in the school, and trying to save friendships with both of her best lifelong friends, all while competing for the coveted role of prom queen. Liz is a bright young lady who’s well-liked, but of course when you want to be prom queen, it can become a cutthroat business. But it is a good premise for creating conflicts and resolutions as everyone’s better angels find a way to surface as usually happens in the best teens stories.
I listened to the audiobook and thought the narrator, Alaska Jackson, did an excellent job.
Moderate: Outing, Homophobia, and Death of parent
Minor: Bullying, Chronic illness, and Racism
bookishkellyn's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Homophobia, Bullying, and Chronic illness
Minor: Death of parent and Racism
gracelang_09's review
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Death of parent, Vomit, and Toxic friendship
avacadosocks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Racism, Death of parent, Outing, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Grief, Chronic illness, and Biphobia
Minor: Transphobia, Car accident, Vomit, and Cancer
withlivjones's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I did find parts of the book pretty cheesy (not that that’s necessarily a bad thing!) and some of the supporting characters felt kind of flat and one-dimensional - I think if I’d read this book when I was 16 i would have eaten it up, but being 22 I didn’t absolutely love it but I enjoyed it nonetheless!
Graphic: Outing, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Racism, Homophobia, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Death of parent and Terminal illness
ktdakotareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Bullying, Chronic illness, and Death of parent
Minor: Homophobia