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annoyedhumanoid's reviews
166 reviews
- 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
Moderate: Sexual content
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
- 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
3.0
there are two very distinct parts to the plot, {Aiden & Harvard} and {Nicholas & Seiji}. the latter pair's plot felt very juvenile, and Seiji is literally Sheldon from the Big Bang Theory which… idk how i feel about. from reading the comics, i felt like his self-isolation was because he was stuck up and pretentious, not because he's oblivious to social cues. he definitely reads as neurodivergent, which i appreciate, but i feel the writing infantilized him. honestly i love Nicholas' character, specifically his outlook and his genuine disregard for Aiden—bruise men's egos!! and even though the hijinks read more like middle grade fiction
which leads me to the other half, with Aiden and Harvard. i was more interested by their chapters, but right at climactic moments it would switch to Nicholas and Seiji. sure, it creates tension, but not enough to last, so when it returns to Aiden and Harvard the immediacy of the situation has dissipated, making for some not great pacing. where Nicholas and Seiji's storyline was generally wholesome and lighthearted, this one is very much angst. without spoiling anything, let me just say that if you were looking for something fluffy, it'll be hard to find here.
anyways, here's a playlist i made based on their relationship: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4zIP3MaMFpDPehAkxRjxlR.
Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
the narrator reminds me of an Edgar Allan Poe character. not any in particular, just in general.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Drug use, Forced institutionalization, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Did not finish book. Stopped at 14%.
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Death, Blood, Stalking, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
also, no, this book doesn't have any queer undertones. they are so blatant they're fucking overtones.
Moderate: Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
now, the not-so-great:
- i found the art underwhelming.
- i have to talk about the weird gaze this graphic novel takes. the two main characters, roommates, and rivals are both high school freshmen, and this is the start of the school year, so most likely 14 years old, possibly 15 [edit: the book's synopsis says Nicholas is 16. i'm still going to talk about the weird gaze though]. yet they're undeniably sexualized to some extent: Nicholas discovers his roommate is Seiji by walking in on the latter taking his shirt off, with sunlight streaming in through the window casting a gleam on his torso. there's a cell with Nicholas showering, censored by a rubber duck. expository "we're fencing now" cells are often closeups of the bare torsos of people in the midst of changing into their gear. this is arguably a romance/gearing up to be a romance, so i understand perhaps planting seeds of attraction between characters, but this just feels a little icky. also it doesn't help that these high schoolers are all unrealistically slim and muscular.
- there wasn't very much content to it. i first read it digitally and so had access to a few volumes at once. this time around i read it physically and only got the first volume from the library, and it was over very quickly.
to clarify the "it's complicated" diverse cast of characters: it's diverse in all respects except gender—it's an all-boys boarding school, so the only women are the coach and her assistant but they're side characters.
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Violence, Abandonment, and Classism
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
i most enjoyed the plots concerning the core four siblings and, later, their plus-one. you'd think they be the majority of the plot, but there are a lot of subplots that have little-to-no bearing on the main storyline, and i understand wanting to make this gigantic party with all these interesting people feel more alive, but after a while i stopped caring and just wanted to skip to the Rivas. it was overall pretty good though
book cover discussion: the British one is so much better than that of the United States, like the pretty sunset/fire (👀) colors, the serif font. unfortunately it doesn't carry over perfectly to the square aspect ratio for the audiobook.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Miscarriage, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Car accident, Abortion, and Fire/Fire injury
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
for the majority of this book i was under the impression that The Guest List was published before The Hunting Party, which made a lot of sense because The Hunting Party felt like a more polished execution of a similar concept. actually, The Guest List came _after_ The Hunting Party. and knowing that her most recent book is The Paris Apartment… 😬
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Gore, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, and Pregnancy
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
cover design is easily five stars.
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Cursing, Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol