The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
tiana_king's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
fast-paced
- 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
Okay so the premise is a bit flimsy. HOWEVER. The banter between the love interests is amazing. Plenty of interesting things happen and the characters are complex. A nice contemporary romance.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Medical trauma, Classism, Death of parent, Drug use, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Toxic friendship, and Death
Moderate: Kidnapping and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual content, and Infidelity
naewuvs's review against another edition
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Torture, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Sexual content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, and Gun violence
Moderate: Alcohol, Cursing, and Drug use
Minor: Panic attacks/disorders
alexamp4's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This was a middle school fave. I remember finding it extremely hot and romantic and like aspirational (in the way twilight is aspirational). But wow it’s pretty racist. And ableist maybe? Lots of Latino stereotypes. Alex’s ex girlfriend, Carmen, is especially a poorly written character. I find it interesting the author thanked some Latino studies students/professors in her acknowledgements when I feel like she did a really bad job not just in overall representation but in writing dialogue in Spanish. I’m not a Spanish speaker but I think the line, “ ‘She might be a mamacita but she ain’t got nothing on this hombre.’” Is bad in any language. The dialogue in general was pretty bad.
I also think using Brittany’s disabled sister as a plot device to show how “bad” her home life actually is is pretty ableist. Although I will say I think the way Brittany and Shelly’s relationship was portrayed was a pretty good example. The choice to have Shelly choose to move to a “facility” is an interesting one that I’m not qualified enough to deem problematic or not.
Overall, this book has pretty shitty writing and I can’t even give it a good rating for what it is because of how racist it is. I’m interested to look up this author’s work now and see if she’s improved her representation at all. Although I definitely still see the appeal it had for tweens at the time but I think tweens now are too woke for this.
I also think using Brittany’s disabled sister as a plot device to show how “bad” her home life actually is is pretty ableist. Although I will say I think the way Brittany and Shelly’s relationship was portrayed was a pretty good example. The choice to have Shelly choose to move to a “facility” is an interesting one that I’m not qualified enough to deem problematic or not.
Overall, this book has pretty shitty writing and I can’t even give it a good rating for what it is because of how racist it is. I’m interested to look up this author’s work now and see if she’s improved her representation at all. Although I definitely still see the appeal it had for tweens at the time but I think tweens now are too woke for this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, and Racism
Moderate: Ableism
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