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jessicohen15'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
3.25
Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Transphobia, and Islamophobia
cosmicwillow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
here’s the thing about this: i get that it’s supposed to be a heartfelt comedy coming of age story but my god the tone was terrible. the level of irony through this was horrendous and it read like a progressive 15 year old on wattpad with a semi dark sense of humour wrote it.
there were some genuinely touching moments in this book which is why i didn’t flat out give it 1 star or less, but it didn’t balance well with the rest of the book, nor the weird, ironic and cynical writing style.
in short, this was insufferable at best.
Graphic: Cancer, Drug use, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
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
martyna_m's review against another edition
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Cancer, Death, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Terminal illness and Transphobia
Minor: Homophobia
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
catherine325's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
3.5
Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, and Drug use
Minor: Homophobia
poetsaurora'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? No
4.5
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Alcohol
mckinnley16'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? No
3.5
Graphic: Cancer
gabe7372'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? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Cancer, Death, Drug use, and Terminal illness
teammercury9546'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
2.75
Moderate: Drug abuse and Drug use
Minor: Cancer and Homophobia