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abanana101's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail
nyquillll's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Things I liked:
- The way the book was chunked and how each POV went back to the same starting point to add more and more context. I will admit, this did slow down the plot of the book for me, but I don't think Freida made things too redundant. She just kept revealing more and more of the inner dialogue of each character and making things more complex.
- The way Matt was, for the most part..., a professor who really cared about his job, his students, and wanted to be a good teacher.
- The complexity of the characters and the exploration of morality, intent vs. impact, "by any means necessary" mentality, first impressions and real personalities, and how cutthroat med school can be.
- Mason's portrayal of his
descent into madness and his connection withGinny , though she really rubbed me the wrong way. - Discussion and some representation of a disabled character (we learn how they became that way later in the story).
Things I didn't like as much:
- The, at times, slightly fatphobic comments, descriptions, or thoughts around weight gain and being of a bigger size.
- Instead of a fast-paced psychological thriller, this felt more like a mystery that isn't solved until the very end, but in kind of an anticlimactic way - and by the time everything was revealed, we kind of already knew what happened because it had been alluded to in the other POVs.
- I am not a fan at all of
student-professor relationships , and was really surprised that this book talked about it, and covered it in a lot of detail. I could have done without. Though it was a bit better by the fact that the characters were in grad school, but still...It makes me feel icky. - Abe's storyline took up a whole bunch - and when I was reading it, I was really confused and wasn't sure if Freida was trying to add
a fantastical element?? to the story? But even after it all goes down, it kind of just poof disappears and there wasn't much resolution. - The very last chapter, where it fast-forwards, I feel like Freida was trying to add a twist ending, but it kind of fell flat for me...Though it did answer a few questions about Abe and Heather.
- The whole backstory of
Frank wasn't super explained? I guess thetattoo wasn't important. - The vicious way the characters treated one another to get ahead - the way they would talk about one another, at least in the inner monologues. (I'm not cut out to be someone like this, so I have a pretty visceral reaction)
I think overall, while I was invested in finishing the book, the way the plot resolved itself didn't have as much of a payoff as I would've liked.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Mental illness, Medical content, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body horror, Gun violence, Suicide, Blood, and Mass/school shootings
Some quotes I highlighted:jspillane's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder
jendif's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence