fionamatilda's review against another edition
- 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
4.25
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Sexual content, Biphobia, Abortion, and Suicide
Minor: Misogyny
jessicadr's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Classism, Death of parent, Death, Car accident, Grief, Homophobia, Infidelity, and Suicide
Moderate: Misogyny, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, and Sexual assault
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, and Alcoholism
darbylane's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Alcohol, Outing, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Classism, Cancer, Body shaming, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Biphobia
sugarwookiee'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: Grief, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Death of parent, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Misogyny, Car accident, Death, Cancer, Alcoholism, Outing, Sexism, Sexual content, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Abortion, Blood, and Medical content
tdhuck'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
Moderate: Cancer, Blood, Alcohol, Abortion, Car accident, Death of parent, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Racism, Outing, Pregnancy, Infertility, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Homophobia, Grief, Death, and Classism
undecidedpersonality'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: Death, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Car accident, Blood, and Misogyny
Moderate: Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Grief, Lesbophobia, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Injury/Injury detail, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Medical content, Suicide, Biphobia, Child death, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
buildingtaste's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I won't star rate it, because I didn't actually read the frame narrative chapters once I saw that they were going to be in first person present tense. Maybe that side of the story earns the unusually high ranking this has?
Positives:
- very quick read.
- the section in Spain was lovely.
Spoiler
Read Evelyn Hugo, they said. It's about Hollywood and lesbians, you'll love it, they said. And... sure, it's ostensibly set in Hollywood, the characters are supposed to be actors in the tail end of the studio era into the new wave and new Hollywood period. But the author doesn't really seem to care about the setting much at all, except as a source of some emotional hurdles for the love story. If she had completely excised real history, relying on a sort of roman a clef version of renamed studios and figures, I could have rolled with it. But instead there were these rare nods to real figures and awards that sent me over-thinking. Evelyn compares herself to Celia and Ruby, but never thinks how her performance might stack up against Katharine Hepburn's turn as Jo March, or Garbo's as Anna Karenina. Her fictional film wins Best Picture in 1982, erasing Gandhi. The real history, where it comes in, is flippant rather than immersive. This Hollywood doesn't feel like it has a history, which is strange for a book that covers so much time, in a place that is so self-aggrandizing and nostalgic for itself. And the lesbians (ok, lesbian and bisexual woman, technically)... I had more time for. The rocky relationship with Celia came to a very poignant, bittersweet conclusion, and I loved their "marriage" in Spain before Celia's death. But the development before that was underwhelming, with their extremely short lead-up and the years they just spent avoiding each other. I wanted a lot more from all Evelyn's relationships than what I got. As it is, the book just seems like a series of quickly-sketched episodes, where despite her claims at being confessional, we get very little understanding of the central character.Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Car accident, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, Outing, Sexual content, Infidelity, Lesbophobia, Sexual harassment, Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual assault
ixececarez's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Sexual content and Sexism
Moderate: Misogyny and Physical abuse
Minor: Death, Racism, and Sexual assault
itsjoenna'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
One of the best book I've read this year.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Alcoholism, Sexual content, and Homophobia
Moderate: Suicide, Biphobia, Misogyny, Car accident, and Cancer
Minor: Abortion
sleeppyyhead's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Misogyny, Sexism, and Outing