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sydoodle's review against another edition
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Pedophilia, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Abortion
taylorjones118'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Miscarriage, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Chronic illness and Abortion
laura_berger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Moderate: Child death and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Abortion, and Death of parent
laurenabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Spellbound. I am spellbound. Giddy. Gleeful. Childlike. I don’t believe I have ever been childlike, but this book is that kind of transformative. It put fuel in my tank; it brightened my darkness; it lifted me from my misery. This is the most magical book that doesn’t include magic, the most whimsical book that I don’t think ever used the word “whimsy,” and the most gratifyingly crafted prose I’ve read in years.
I can barely contain my joy to review this, except to say it was un-put-downable. I timed my reading session, and I blew through this in 5.28 hours. This is the most valuable 5.28 hours I’ve spent in ages.
Teacher’s aid Lucy is selected with a few other strangers to play a game at the remote home of a reclusive children’s author and his despondent illustrator. Questions and riddles and mysteries follow, but there are bigger prizes at stake…
You love Lucy. You love Jack. You’re praying that Christopher gets what he deserves, and you hope that Hugo gets that too. This is a story about the power of wishes and the fact that wishes aren’t granted, they’re chased. They are breathed into life by the mind and then hunted down and made manifest by sheer force of will and determination. And even then, you don’t get what you wish for, you get what you deserve.
This is a book about books, about love and hope, about found family and the power of fantasy. It’s a story within a story maybe within another story, and each ending feels like the warm sun on your face after a winter of gloom.
Trigger warning for various forms of child abuse, neglect, illness, bigotry. But for the love of all things holy and unholy, read this. I burst into tears around page 245, and haven’t stopped crying since. It’ll be the fastest thing you’ll read, and the thing you put at the top of your re-read list. I never re-read anything, but I already can’t wait to read this again.
It’s not too heavy, not too light, and is as near to perfectly charming as a book can be. A million stars, a million likes, a million thanks.
Graphic: Grief and Abandonment
Moderate: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child death, Drug abuse, Incest, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, and Abortion
beyourbestshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Abandonment
Minor: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Death of parent