rwn_tree's Reviews (113)

challenging dark hopeful medium-paced

oh man, okay. i have a lot of thoughts about this book, but tldr: it was pretty good, despite its flaws.

now, for a more in depth critique:

1. the most developed characters are benji, nick and theo, in my opinion. everyone else is just sorta there. benji says they're his friends and they're so close, but it just... isn't really shown on page

2. the diversity is a little awkward. while im a huge supporter of representation as a trans and gay person myself, i just can't say i liked it. makes me cringe a little when a character feels like they're made to check boxes first and be a person second, i suppose.

it's the first thing we find out about pretty much every side character, iirc. "this one is gay, this one is trans, this one is sapphic," etc. it's not a problem, per se, because representation is needed and important, but it didn't feel super natural in this book.

3. the writing style was just... okay. the gore was pretty well done, and there were moments that made me genuinely sad/feel for the characters, but it is a little lacking in descriptions and, as i mentioned in point 1, telling not showing. 

i struggled to picture what things looked like, especially buildings. i have no clue what the alc was supposed to look like. this could be a me problem, but idk.

4. another personal one, i guess, but i just couldn't for the life of me decide my feelings on the book. i went from "wow, this is actually peak" to "oh, maybe not..." too many times to give this a rating higher than 3-4 stars. 

5. petty and personal, but ohmygod i could NOT stand salvador, im so sorry. reminded me of 2015 in the worst way (i cant put it into words, but each time xe was on page i would cringe and/or roll my eyes)

building off this point, the author describes the book as written by "a bitter, terrified boy barely out of his teens," and im afraid it shows </3 there are some parts that made me feel like i aged 100 years (reading "yeet" written on page in the big 2025 made my eyes glaze over)

REGARDLESS!!! this was a genuinely pretty good ya novel (i'm 18 now, so i'm probably slowly slipping out of that target audience, and that's probably why it didn't 100% mesh with me). 

there was gay and trans rep front and centre, there was religious trauma, if that's your thing, there was a well earned good ending. honestly, i cant complain too much. it was solid premise, despite the flaws in its execution, and i look forward to checking out more of ajw's books. i heard that this is his debut, so i have faith that as he develops and grows as a writer, the aforementioned problems are smoothed over :)

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hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective fast-paced
challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

so obsessed with all these sick and vile people <33

honestly just.... not for me
disappointed, since i loved icarus and wicker king by the same author, but you can't win em all 👍

this review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2959966495) sums up pretty much everything that bothered me (aside from the stylistic choices with the writing, i dont mind overlooking those, but the plot holes just... threw me off a lot)

also!!! hated the cameo of the characters from wicker king. ik theyre ancrum's characters but in this book they felt... ooc and just indescribably off to me, can't put a finger on it but it made me scowl and pace (i got very attached to them when i read the wicker king and seeing them so different made me irrationally mad lol) 

this review (https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/4448157457) summed up my frustration with the cameo perfectly

They Both Die At The End

Adam Silvera

DID NOT FINISH: 5%

okay so this is kind of my own fault for reading the secret history for the first time right before this lmao

coming off of a really phenomenal book to dip into what i feel like is pretty mid tier ya, i just.... couldn't get invested. 

to be clear, this is a reread. i remember reading this book a good 6 years ago (iirc) and kinda hating the ending, because "what's the point of rooting for the mcs if it means nothing in the end?" 

but this year, i thought "it's been a while, i'll try pick it up again, maybe my mind will change" and... yeah i think im outgrowing ya a little bit, tbh.... maybe i'll give it another, fairer chance again in the future, but for now, i just can't 😭
dark mysterious sad medium-paced

so obsessed with all these sick and vile people <33