flowerest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.5
the reason for the "low" rating is that i've definitely outgrown this type of book and never got fully immersed into it, but i know i would've made this my whole personality if i read it as a teenager lol
(definitely check trigger warnings if you're planning to read it)
Graphic: Dementia, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Infidelity, Death of parent, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Drug use
mschirem's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, Dementia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child abuse and Domestic abuse
ingridmaria's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Spoiler
seeing as this one ends so unhappily. But then again that might take away from why I liked it so much</spoilers>. Knocked a quarter point off because the first 70 pages could (maybe should) have been 30.Graphic: Mental illness, Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Suicide, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Violence, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Cursing, Vomit, Drug use, Child abuse, Child death, and Dementia
kclikesthings's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Bullying, Child death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Fatphobia
Minor: Abandonment
parasolcrafter'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Classism, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content
sakuraisobsessedwithbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Violence, Homophobia, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Outing, Mental illness, Grief, Death of parent, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Suicide attempt
maryy_r0se's review
**note: I read this as part of an ongoing project to read and critique young adult books that include themes of mental illness**
High schooler Aaron Soto is on the path to recovering from his father's suicide and his own suicide attempt. With Gen, his free-spirited and loving girlfriend at his side, he is ready to move forward, even when the pain feels overwhelming. His progress gets derailed when he befriends Thomas, a quirky kid with a love of movies and no real direction in life. Aaron feels connected to Thomas in a confusing way that seems to transcend friendship. Add to that his community's mounting tension over the Leteo Institute, a controversial medical practice that claims to suppress distressing memories, and Aaron begins to find himself in a freefall that may very well be his undoing.
There is a lot to like about this book. I don't regularly read young adult novels, so it took me a while to adjust to the writing style. However, Silvera achieves at writing a main character who is deeply flawed and yet the reader can still root for. The pacing was inconsistent at parts, and I wasn't sure how I felt about it in the first half, but the second half really picked up for me.
Spoiler
I found myself genuinely shocked at the plot twist.The comparisons to Eternal Sunshine are certainly warranted, and at times I did wonder if it felt close enough to the movie to dull my enjoyment of the book; it is not a rip off by any means, but didn't fully grip my attention because of the occasional inkling of "haven't I heard this before?" I kept waiting for Thomas, the book's resident movie buff, to bring up the Eternal Sunshine connection. That said, I have very little experience with sci fi content, and perhaps if I did I would simply see this as a common enough trope that it wouldn't stand out.
I read the version with the altered ending, and while I think I personally would have appreciated the original ending a tad more, considering it is a teen book I think adding the extra chapter was the right move. I was left with a major question at the end:
Spoiler
was the Jordan that Aaron met in group therapy somehow supposed to be the same Jordan that shot and killed Kenneth? It could have just been a different character with the same name, but it seemed a bit odd that Silvera would have two characters with the same name and no explanation. Group Therapy Jordan also mentioned his sister at least twice, which seemed relevant because Other Jordan killed Kenneth because of his sister. And while Group Therapy Jordan's backstory didn't align with Other Jordan's, both Group Therapy Jordan and Aaron had been given the Leteo procedure so maybe their memories were still corrupt in some way? But in that case, wouldn't someone like Eric or Gen have recognized Jordan when he came to the birthday party? I kept waiting for another twist or at least some sort of explanation, but it never came. This was especially confusing to me because the author went out of his way when explaining the two Daves and the two Aarons.I read this book to screen it for a library booklist I am making regarding teen mental health books, and I have decided to approve it for the list. Despite some flaws, I think it shows a nuanced perspective on familial suicide and mental health, while also providing representation to often unrepresented groups.
Graphic: Death of parent, Hate crime, Homophobia, Medical content, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, and Self harm
Minor: Gun violence and Pregnancy
dhruthick'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, and Child death
Minor: Rape
19becky97's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Violence
eleyden's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child abuse and Domestic abuse