Scan barcode
nrougely'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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
luuaa'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
2.0
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
fbarros's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
However, I feel like the author made very unlikely things happen to the characters just for shock value, and it made me bored, more or less, in the final two parts because of it. It all felt too artificially designed to make you feel something, and it ended up making me feel nothing.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Excrement, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
payson's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
kalynnar'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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Trafficking, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Dysphoria
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hanya Yanagihara is an immensely talented author. This book is beautifully written, and you will feel strong emotions about all the characters, be it love or hate. Unfortunately, that means the ones you love will also break your heart, over and over and over.
The story follows four friends from college and the people they meet along the way—the things they’ve lived through, their successes, their struggles, the things they can’t overcome. Please take care of yourself while reading this book and know that you are loved.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity
clovetra'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
5.0
i originally debated over whether i was gonna give this 5-stars or 4-stars but honestly the sheer ability for this book to make me cry 7 different times is enough to make it a 5-star. i barely cry whilst consuming media as my autistic brain is able to differentiate this shit is not real therefore its not sad!!! but i could not with this book. so much crying. even some happy tears which is nuts because ive only done that with one other book (The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School). the way i became so attached to all these characters made me so emotional in every aspect. like the fact i was already beginning to cry in part III when the horrors of part IV & part VI were yet to come.... beautiful.
the only reason i was thinking this was a 4-star book was because god... jude sometimes is so annoying. it feels so wrong writing that because hes literally my baby girl but. QUEEN PLEASE LET URSELF BE LOVED!!!! thats the part that was grating. i know its realistic tho, so tbh im not mad at it. jude repeating that he is unloveable, disgusting, etc. is essential to his character, so from purely a reader's perspective i fucking hated it, but as someone who thinks this book will stick with them for the rest of their life, oh it was necessary.
also who tf decides to give a 4-star review for a 737 page book they read in 2-weeks???? thats fucking nuts even for me.
the amount of times i had to resist googling fanart of willem & jude, or just jude in general was so fucking hard. ive never had this deep of a yearning for literal words.
also this book made me feel. tbh im kinda desensitised to gore & horror and general Bad Things in books. like at 9y/o i was on r/5050 and other shit my ass shouldn't have seen. but some scenes made me viscerally nauseous, or genuinely have to put the book down and stare into space for a bit. yet again only one book has achieved this feat (Earthlings), but even then that book just fucked me up for one part. this book fucked me up at every corner. every page turn.
literally i decided to watch a horror movie last night (abigail, 2024, for anyone curious) and usually im good with gore. most of my special interests are all horror-related (danganronpa, fnaf, until dawn, etc.). because of this book i actually was gagging & had to close my eyes at many points WHILST WATCHING A MOVIE.
the fact a book can have that big of an effect on me? my insane ass? oh yeah hanya yanagihara solo'd.
i actually dont think i can describe how much this book has changed me. was this book enjoyable? sometimes yes. sometimes it was almost a sick perversion i had to finish it. like yeah i would say in 2024 there are books i have 100% "enjoyed" more. but i think this shit has fundamentally changed me. i dont know how, but i feel like a new man.
i cant believe i dnf'd this in the past (to be fair tho i was 14 years old... yeah this wouldve fucked me up even worse!!!!!)
if you are looking to change ur brain chemistry in the worst yet best way possible this book is for you 👍
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Kidnapping, Car accident, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer
c_seonjyung'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
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infidelity
cinn_vida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
k_j_reads'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
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Medical content, Car accident, and Gaslighting