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leakaroo's review
1. Hanya is a straight woman. She is writing in the perspective of gay (?) men and this is not the only book of hers where she is writing about sexual abuse in male relationships. Frankly comes off as fetishising as she is exploring this plot more than once. She could well have made Jude a woman, but I think the reason this book is so popular is due to the very fact that Jude is a man and that somehow the abuse can be seen as "poetic" or "heart-wrenchingly sad" instead of plain disturbing due to the gender. In my opinion, if EVERY SINGLE thing in this book stayed the same EXCEPT that Jude was a woman, this book would be 100% hated on- change my mind!
2. The view on therapy that this book takes is highly questionable!!! It's very obvious that no research was done and there is no background in psychology or actual understanding of therapy and human psyche etc. The message we are left with at the end of this book is 'it doesn't matter if you're a good person, it doesn't matter if you find support, some people's only choice is suicide'.
2.5. As a result of this underlying message, two of the beloved characters (who I also personally loved) actually end up being lowkey villains
3. Willem is problematic
Anyways, I would never recommend this book (please stop recommending this book so casually i'm BEGGING). BUT I admit I still think this is really well-written and emotionally impactful. It's torturous on another level, and yet sparks interesting conversations. Honestly would be a great book club book just for the fact that this is so discussable. But yeah, you see how this book is such a conundrum.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racism
mariaviola'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Homophobia, Racism, Vomit, Dementia, Death of parent, and Abandonment
elicia98's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
emicrk's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Body shaming, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, and Drug use
lunimoony's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Deadnaming and Alcohol
eib_21's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
soumya_singhal's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
nrtarran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
liliandra'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? It's complicated
5.0
Abuse
Drug Use
Harassment
Child Abuse
Suicide
Self Harm
Racial Slurs
Racism
Homophobia
Misscommunication
Forced Prostitution
Rape
Beating
Pedophilia
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
rodeorevellers'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail