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besotted's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Drug use, Transphobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Death, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Islamophobia, and Stalking
Minor: Addiction, Bullying, Sexual content, Medical content, Alcohol, and Dysphoria
jenny_librarian's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
It’s not all bad, mind you. It’s compelling and short enough that I powered through it easily. But it’s not good either. It kinda feels like an after school special with the dumbed-down definition of trans, the disabled brother who could be a cardboard cutout for all the time they spend talking about him like he’s furniture, and the author hitting you over the head with life lessons.
I liked some of the humour (Lewis and Clark vs Lois and Clark; Joey’s mind-movie of God, Moses and Jesus trying to tell Christians they actually don’t mind gay folks; the William Shatner Online Institute), but other jokes fell incredibly flat, if not downright offensive (“I always wanted a gay best friend” 🤢).
I wanted to read the Land of Stories, since it’s so popular, but if this book is a faithful representation of Chris Colfer’s writing, I think I’ll pass.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Terminal illness, Transphobia, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Outing, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Mental illness, Racism, Stalking, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
Minor: Child abuse and Homophobia
kj468'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? No
1.5
At times, the book felt a bit like D.A.R.E. propaganda, showing teenagers using drugs and alcohol in not particularly realistic fashions and with not particularly realistic effects (ie two of the characters seem to do approximately five shots while having a serious conversation, and one of the characters was already drunk before those shots; the characters smoke weed that the more experienced smoker of the group decides is "laced with some shit" but there's not much of an explanation for why the character thinks that).
Ultimately, I mainly read this book because I was on the beach and it was the book I had with me, and also to confirm my suspicions about the foreshadowed plot twist. The plot twist at the end felt fairly obvious to me, given the anvil-sized hints laced throughout the book, but I did like that part. If I read it in a different setting, I likely would have DNF'd it due to the general insensitivity throughout the book.
Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Homophobia, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, and Outing
Minor: Cultural appropriation
additional cw (plot twist spoilers):