kanthereader's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Sexual content
Minor: Drug use, Vomit, Alcohol, Death, and Blood
alexabyers's review against another edition
challenging
dark
inspiring
lighthearted
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Alex and Brittany
Brittany is the popular girl at school who is deemed to be living the perfect life but behind the house door, her world is in shambles constantly. Her older sister needs help from a caretaker, her mother critiques her every breath, and her dad is never around. She just wants some normalcy and to not have to be perfect 110% of the time.
Alex is from the other side of town. He is in the gang that took his fathers life but only because he has to to protect his mom and brothers. Brittany makes him want to get out but he knows he can’t otherwise he could be killed.
Brittany is the popular girl at school who is deemed to be living the perfect life but behind the house door, her world is in shambles constantly. Her older sister needs help from a caretaker, her mother critiques her every breath, and her dad is never around. She just wants some normalcy and to not have to be perfect 110% of the time.
Alex is from the other side of town. He is in the gang that took his fathers life but only because he has to to protect his mom and brothers. Brittany makes him want to get out but he knows he can’t otherwise he could be killed.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Death
Minor: Death of parent
daisha101's review against another edition
dark
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I had high hopes, but found this disappointing. It’s filled with stereotypes and the characters lack depth.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
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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