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laziceva_kala's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
Loved everything about this book, main character is the love to hate type, very flawed but aware of it. The story is engaging and very fun to read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Gaslighting
chris_reads's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Hate crime, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Bullying, and Stalking
Minor: Biphobia and Medical content
readandfindout's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
Style/writing: 3 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 2.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Themes: 5 stars
Characters: 2.5 stars
Plot: 4.5 stars
Worldbuilding: 3.5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, and Outing
mrswhiteinthelibrary's review against another edition
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
4.0
Hank Green managed to write a spot-on satire of the Covid-19 pandemic several years before it happened, pinpointing the source of our intense division and the misery of being more connected than ever but ever more alone... And he did it without it being a pretentious slog, in a book with mechas, puzzles, and a true sense of wonder. While some aspects of it may grate (the sometimes overly twee dialogue that his brother also seems to love to employ) his use of specific details and his deeply flawed heroine keep this book grounded and the pages fly by. Bravo all around.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death
Minor: Homophobia and Xenophobia
Hank Green managed to write a spot-on satire of the Covid-19 pandemic several years before it happened, pinpointing the source of our intense division and the misery of being more connected than ever but ever more alone... And he did it without it being a pretentious slog, in a book with mechas, puzzles, and a true sense of wonder. While some aspects of it may grate (the sometimes overly twee dialogue that his brother also seems to love to employ) his use of specific details and his deeply flawed heroine keep this book grounded and the pages fly by. Bravo all around.libbyhb's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
hopeful
informative
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I knew vaguely what this was about, but it was definitely not what I expected! I liked how much of this story was centered on internet community-building and the power of the collective, since that's been Hank Green's life these past 14-ish years at least. This was hard to get into at first, just because it throws you into a really frantic-paced story right out the gate, but once I got used to that I really enjoyed it. April is a fun protagonist, and I liked that she was so explicitly focused on being famous, on being The One who did everything first - and how the story unfolded to prove that that wasn't the way. The review question "Are the flaws of the main characters a main focus of the book?" made me laugh becuase, yes. They're OUT THERE. The Dream was maybe my favorite part - it was so cool and well-conceived and I could really feel the Hank in it. I'm looking forward to the next book, although I wouldn't have even minded if this was a standalone, even with how it ended.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Violence
Moderate: Biphobia and Toxic relationship
mxfahrenheit's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Violence, Xenophobia, and Blood
Moderate: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Infidelity, and Toxic relationship
eamily's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- 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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Biphobia, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Police brutality
Minor: Bullying, Infidelity, Sexual content, Excrement, and Classism
kellys_bookcase's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gore
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Biphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, and Xenophobia
empathephant's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
So the first time I read this I ate it up. I was sick, it was like a two day read, and all I cared about was the plot and the mystery. At times I kind of rolled my eyes a little bit as I thought Hank was definitely using the book to insert some vlogbrothers-style essay musings on life, which, while interesting pulled me out of the story a little as the voice felt more like Hank than the narrator. But I liked it enough to immediately suggest it as a book I could read aloud to my husband.
In forcing myself to slow down and read it I realized that I never really bonded with the characters. April is kind of annoying as hell. She has "flaws", but they don't seem to get in her way nor does she ever grow past being an impulsive entitled asshole towards people she theoretically should care about. And while the cast is "diverse," they are all gorgeous, ridiculously smart/talented women. Which doesn't feel relatable to me. These people are becoming more and more famous and are literally never self-conscious? Never think about their bodies? Maybe I'm wrong and most women around me are shining beams of confidence in every moment, but...
All of that said, I'd still recommend this book. I think many of its flaws are ones that can easily be ascribed to a first time author who had a pretty quick avenue to getting published, and Hank has an amazing imagination and I can't wait to see him grow as an author. And even more importantly, this book is super timely in the questions it makes you ask yourself about society, politics, and the dynamics of healthy debate on the internet. The idea ofThe Dream was delightful, and I loved every moment I got to spend in it. I grew from reading the book despite not connecting with the characters, which to me says the ideas it contains are pretty smart.
(Also, I'm finding the second book a lot better in terms of character development, and it has a compelling story, so it's worth it to read this just to get to that.)
In forcing myself to slow down and read it I realized that I never really bonded with the characters. April is kind of annoying as hell. She has "flaws", but they don't seem to get in her way nor does she ever grow past being an impulsive entitled asshole towards people she theoretically should care about. And while the cast is "diverse," they are all gorgeous, ridiculously smart/talented women. Which doesn't feel relatable to me. These people are becoming more and more famous and are literally never self-conscious? Never think about their bodies? Maybe I'm wrong and most women around me are shining beams of confidence in every moment, but...
All of that said, I'd still recommend this book. I think many of its flaws are ones that can easily be ascribed to a first time author who had a pretty quick avenue to getting published, and Hank has an amazing imagination and I can't wait to see him grow as an author. And even more importantly, this book is super timely in the questions it makes you ask yourself about society, politics, and the dynamics of healthy debate on the internet. The idea of
(Also, I'm finding the second book a lot better in terms of character development, and it has a compelling story, so it's worth it to read this just to get to that.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Gore, and Gun violence
Moderate: Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia and Toxic relationship
The final chapters contain some pretty graphic and intense descriptions of