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geeky_spider's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Bullying and Child death
ishieemouie'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: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, and Toxic friendship
wchereads's review against another edition
2.0
Th set up was solid. A girl who's a bit "strange", lives with a borderline neglectful mother and struggles to build friendship, and a ghost who loves the girl dearly but does not know the best way to protect her and relies on dark methods a bit too much... I feel like there are lots of potentials for character development here. There's a lot of nuance too with the girl and her mother's relationship and also the way the girl reacts to/interacts with the school bullies. But none of these are explored in a satisfying way.
What bothered me the most was how the bullying was handled. I checked out when the girl would rather take essentially inhumane treatment than doing ANYTHING for herself. Not letting Ghost retaliate is one thing, but considering any sorts of fighting back as bad as the bullies themselves is quite another.
The girl's character development is incredibly weak and nonexistent. The conflict with the antagonist also feels fake and unconvincing. For the rest of the book I was simply not engaged.
Graphic: Bullying
qrschulte'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: Bullying, Torture, Grief, Stalking, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder
lizgom's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Torture, Violence, and Murder
szuum'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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, and Death
Moderate: Grief
Minor: Death of parent
goizi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying and Child death
Moderate: Torture and Grief
tahsintries's review against another edition
5.0
Moderate: Bullying and Child death
directorpurry'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Child death
Minor: Death of parent
alexvb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
The writing flowed so well, and the story was very easy to get into!
The characters are all so distinct and great. I like PINK even though we are challenged to question him and his morals. The bad guy was actually chilling and creepy!
The story naturally has Muslim and Malaysian culture / aspects into the story which was great for me to look up (especially all the food mentioned! So much food was mentioned!) and do extra research about if I wanted to.
I the dual pov was perfect for me.
This story also discusses parental love, mourning, and bullying, and it felt very realistic. The fantasy/supernatural is very minor compared to the modern day, everyday life, and real topics in ths book.
I found myself crying in that last chapter though! The reveal!!
Personally, I think that this book is probably better for the upper end of middle grade (13-14) rather than the lower end. Some publishers class age 8-14/15 as middle grade, but I would not recommend this book to someone under 12, because some parts of this were genuinely dark, creepy, and scary if I'm being honest. I had some disgusted, creeped-out, heart-racing moments myself reading this as an adult! Our main character around 12 to 13 years old, so if you're going to give this book to a child, I think a child of the same age or older is best.
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, and Death
Minor: Violence, Grief, and Murder