qrschulte'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
5.0
I didn’t find Sadie and Sam particularly likable, but I completely understood their motivations and their choices were believable.
This was a really ambitious book, and I think Zevin executed it really well. You can tell she put in a lot of time researching to make it realistic. It’s clearly a love letter to gaming, and I really appreciated the style of the different sections. I think it added a lot to the narrative. This is definitely a book that I will enjoy even more on a future read, though having a physical copy would make it easier to flip back to remind myself of different sections.
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and War
Not a true adult/minor relationship, but the power dynamic was definitely like one. The ableism is more internalized.annasbooks00's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Vomit, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Chronic illness, and Gun violence
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Alcohol, and Sexual content
signelinnea'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
4.25
Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Physical abuse, Mass/school shootings, and Miscarriage
ashleybakerwrites'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Racism, Infidelity, Drug use, Death of parent, Car accident, Abortion, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Ableism, Misogyny, and Death
lmanor'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
4.25
Graphic: Hate crime, Cancer, Classism, Death, Gaslighting, Pregnancy, Toxic relationship, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Abortion, Ableism, Abandonment, Drug use, Grief, Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Car accident, Violence, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Homophobia, and Mental illness
deifoley'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: Death of parent, Chronic illness, Grief, Death, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, and Homophobia
lexigrce'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
Moderate: Racial slurs, Violence, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Medical trauma, Murder, Racism, Rape, Drug use, Pregnancy, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Antisemitism, Blood, Sexual assault, Car accident, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, and Vomit
sarahreads2222'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
It would be hard for me to love this book more.
- The characters and their arguments were realistic. Not picture perfect or overly horrible. Their relationships were flawed and imperfect but beautiful too
- The depiction of how games impacted their lives in all the stages of their lives
- The way Sam and Sadie were beyond friendship but not romantic was described and explained several times perfectly throughout their life
- I loved Marx so much
- Dov was the word tang I hate that he kept popping up so much but I guess that is realistic for many relationships
- It was slow moving and dragged at a few parts but it didn’t bother me
- I want to play all of the games described right now
- The way real life games were intertwined as well as some of the events of the past that went on during that time frame
- The light incorporation of Shakespeare and the title through Marx
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Grief, Gun violence, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Infidelity, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Homophobia, Ableism, Alcohol, Car accident, and Death
beccabarpel's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Where do possession and love and romance and friendship converge and when do they diverge? How can you stay friends with someone who's broken your heart again and again? How can you let them leave your life? When does forgiveness become a necessity rather than a luxury? Is the easy relationship better than the hard one or merely different? Are the fruits of one relationship objectively better than the fruits of another or are they unable to be compared? Can you love more than one person with your whole heart at the same time? Must love always hurt? Does the love that doesn't leave scars feel like it happened at all?
Graphic: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Abortion
olivia119'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
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gaslighting, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual violence, Ableism, Body horror, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cultural appropriation, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexism, Sexual assault, Homophobia, and Mass/school shootings