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storielore's review against another edition
challenging
hopeful
reflective
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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Pedophilia, Cancer, Sexual assault, and Sexism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Rape
afropxks's review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief and Death of parent
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexual harassment, and Sexism
magicshop's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
It’s strange, not to be the youngest kind of adult anymore. I’m thirty-one now, and my mother is dead.
you should read this book if...
- you like lyrical, punchy prose
- you're ready to read quite a bit of romance, despite this book not having that tag on storygraph
- you can handle grief and parent death being a major part of the story
the good
- very good writing. not the best i’ve ever seen, but i enjoyed it a lot. there’s a quality to it that really makes you feel like you’re inside the main character’s headspace, and it flows off the page beautifully despite actually being quite staccato in its pace.
- casey’s reflections and remembrances about her mom are the highlight of this book imo. every time she goes on a momtangent there’s a banger line or another hiding in the midst, or a thought that feels so raw you might as well be the one feeling it, even if you’ve never actually gone through what she has.
- as someone who had issues with anxiety for more or less a decade, i personally loved king’s descriptions of casey’s panic attacks. that was extremely relatable on top of the already extremely relatable ruminations casey goes through. it’s clear that king either went through something similar herself or did her research very well. (disclaimer: not everyone’s experiences with anxiety — or anything — will be the same, so this might not hit the right note for others like it did for me.)
- it's just generally a very comforting book for me to read because the main character's thoughts echo a lot of mine when i'm at my worst (and she's at her worst for most of the book, so). despite my lenghty "bad" section below, keep in mind that i actually enjoyed myself reading this and would recommend picking up a sample and seeing if it vibes with you before making any decisions. that's true of any book regardless of reviews, anyway! make your own decisions, kids.
the bad
- the few lgbt characters are initially treated very stereotypically (harry is flamboyant and boy-obsessed and chases after straight men? snore), and there isn’t enough about them in the book to really push them out of that role. in the end caleb fares a little better than harry though, who is relegated to very good close friend and casey-supporter for the second half of the book (but at least the stereotyping was gone i guess?).
- the book lacks in representation in most aspects not related to sexuality. pretty whitewashed overall as far as i could tell, though to be fair i only remember a few characters getting any physical descriptions at all.
- i didn’t want casey to
end up with silas. i thought that was extremely superfluous and tacked-on just so she could be with someone at the end. but maybe that’s just because king spent half the novel developing oscar and his family just to throw that all away (which i actually support given that oscar turns out to be a liiiiitle bit of a capital c Creep). where is silas’ development?? we know so little about him it’s actually hilarious. casey gets the good kind of bees around him though, and we all know it’s all about the good kind of bees in life. - speaking of oscar’s family,
what even happened to those kids and why does casey not spare a single thought for them and their loss (and her loss) before the ending? according to casey herself, she loved those kids more than she wanted anything to do with oscar. they were the actual glue in the relationship. so where’s their goodbye? even just a letter, a little gift of some kind, any kind of spare thought toward them? instead, casey barrels through toward her happy ending without a second thought. that really struck me as unlikely for the kind of person she was. i didn't understand it.
the complicated
- i wanted to like the ending because
i tend to prefer realistic-to-hopeful endings in general, but i have to say it didn’t feel fully coherent, narrative-wise. my biggest issue was casey’s mindset shift, which was so absolute in its 180 that i got whiplash. it was almost like the second she let go of oscar she also shed her skin and grew back a completely different, and much more effective type of armor. i’m not saying this doesn’t happen in real life, and as someone going through very similar things as her in my own life right now it did feel almost cathartic to read about, but that feeling doesn’t correspond to what my actual brain wanted out of the story. everything is resolved very quickly and very easily, and that brings me little actual satisfaction as a reader. where is casey’s bottomless reluctance toward everything? where is her insecurity? where is her anxiety? she went to 3 therapy sessions and every bad feeling is gone and casually replaced with courage, happiness and self-confidence? i suddenly want to find someone named oscar just so i can break up with them, too. maybe that’s what i’m missing.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief
Moderate: Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, and Cancer
penofpossibilities's review
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.0
Things I liked: the geese thing (I nearly cried)
Mc bonding with kids
"Big fearless blue giraffe"
Things I did not like: the context in which the word asexual was used
Stereotypical gay bestie side character
Hetero nonsense
No communication in relationships 😐
Mc bonding with kids
"Big fearless blue giraffe"
Things I did not like: the context in which the word asexual was used
Stereotypical gay bestie side character
Hetero nonsense
No communication in relationships 😐
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexism, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Acephobia/Arophobia
hkburke2's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Slow burn. The MC was aggravating for me, but in a way that means she felt real and like someone I should be able to reason with? Very immersive.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Medical content, Misogyny, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Infertility
jswisher36's review
dark
funny
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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
4.5
If this book was a song, it would be Funeral by Phoebe Bridgers.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, and Death
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Rape
florecita_lectora's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Cancer, Bullying, and Sexism
nicoreads333's review
emotional
funny
reflective
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
4.75
I loved this book. It inspired me to pursue writing, even with all of the obstacles that come with it. I related to the main character a lot, over thirty and struggling and trying to figure myself and life out. She writes about life so realistically, especially in regards to the relationships between women and men. And I don't mean in a strictly romantic way, but in terms of the way men treat women, and how women digest this treatment. I feel like I could reread this again and gain even more the second time around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content
Minor: Death
gendavis's review
challenging
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Sexism, and Sexual content
sib_reads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
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
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Cancer, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Infidelity, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual content