oksitosiini's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? No
1.0
leen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
“A girl’s life is the worst life in the world. A girl’s life is: you are born, you bleed, you burn.”
This book was so raw in my opinion and it felt like the author was reaching into my brain and articulating my thoughts in a way that I’m not capable of, it destroyed me and the author’s note was just the cherry on top.
Please look at the trigger warnings for this book because there are many!!
Oh and Felix’s character was truly the light in the of the tunnel. In my opinion the last 50-60 pages are phenomenal!!
This book was so raw in my opinion and it felt like the author was reaching into my brain and articulating my thoughts in a way that I’m not capable of, it destroyed me and the author’s note was just the cherry on top.
Please look at the trigger warnings for this book because there are many!!
Spoiler
also fuck Riley.Oh and Felix’s character was truly the light in the of the tunnel. In my opinion the last 50-60 pages are phenomenal!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Self harm, Death, Drug abuse, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Alcoholism
brittany_tellefsen's review against another edition
4.0
Rating: 4.5/5
Charlie Daniels is broken.
With a father lost to suicide and an abusive mother, her home life was a nightmare. But it was after losing her best friend that pushed her over the edge. She chose to live on the streets where she conned, lied, stole, drank, fucked, partied, used, and ultimately lived a reckless and dangerous life, self-harming to deal with the pain and the loss. Her body is a map of scars, showing where she has been.
This life would eventually lead to a failed suicide attempt that landed Charlie in a psych ward. But upon release, rather then staying in the care of her mother, she moved to Arizona to stay with a longtime friend. She begins to make positive life strides, but she starts to backslide with Riley, a cliche, has-been rockstar who succumbed to a life of excess and now simply works at his sister's coffee shop, day drinking, and using drugs just to subsist.
Charlie knows that Riley is bad news. And she knows what being near him will mean for her. But she can't seem to pull herself away......
This book was absolutely stunning. Just the gritty, raw, real glimpse into humanity was incredible and I am so grateful that this book was put in front of me.
Of course, it will be obvious that this book deals with a large amount of difficult topics including suicide, self-harm, mental illness, addiction, drugs and abuse. So if you are sensitive to these topics, it might be best to stay away. And I cannot comment as to the representation, but I do know that Kathleen Glasgow herself used to self-harm, so I am fairly confident that the material in this book is born a lot of personal experience.
Based on the content of this, I not sure what it says about me that I enjoyed this book immensly. Maybe it is because I now prefer my YA Contemporaries with a large does of hard-hitting, gut-punching, topics that have the possibility of illiciting visceral reactions. Or maybe it was just because I found Kathleen Glasgow's writing to be straightforward and simple, while delivering the emotional impact I was looking for. The topics, though dark, were written in a way light enough to be easily consumable, without ever nearing the line of turning them into lighthearted fluff.
I was completely engaged and invested from the first few pages as we are introduced in a very "Girl Interrupted" way, to Charlie, and we learn more of her and the world surrounding her. But I was truly most interested in her life outside, when she truly had to stand on her own and decide which path to walk down. How she struggled to survive on measly wages at a coffee shop, just trying to determine where her next meal would come from, not even having the most basic of necessities. How her instincts told her to shut out the world, but yet, she still craved human connection. How she recognized wrong behavior and toxic people but still graviated towards them because that was all she knew. The only way she felt accepted.
I ultimately just really appreciated the story and getting to know Charlie and watching her overcome her battles.
Charlie Daniels is broken.
With a father lost to suicide and an abusive mother, her home life was a nightmare. But it was after losing her best friend that pushed her over the edge. She chose to live on the streets where she conned, lied, stole, drank, fucked, partied, used, and ultimately lived a reckless and dangerous life, self-harming to deal with the pain and the loss. Her body is a map of scars, showing where she has been.
This life would eventually lead to a failed suicide attempt that landed Charlie in a psych ward. But upon release, rather then staying in the care of her mother, she moved to Arizona to stay with a longtime friend. She begins to make positive life strides, but she starts to backslide with Riley, a cliche, has-been rockstar who succumbed to a life of excess and now simply works at his sister's coffee shop, day drinking, and using drugs just to subsist.
Charlie knows that Riley is bad news. And she knows what being near him will mean for her. But she can't seem to pull herself away......
This book was absolutely stunning. Just the gritty, raw, real glimpse into humanity was incredible and I am so grateful that this book was put in front of me.
Of course, it will be obvious that this book deals with a large amount of difficult topics including suicide, self-harm, mental illness, addiction, drugs and abuse. So if you are sensitive to these topics, it might be best to stay away. And I cannot comment as to the representation, but I do know that Kathleen Glasgow herself used to self-harm, so I am fairly confident that the material in this book is born a lot of personal experience.
Based on the content of this, I not sure what it says about me that I enjoyed this book immensly. Maybe it is because I now prefer my YA Contemporaries with a large does of hard-hitting, gut-punching, topics that have the possibility of illiciting visceral reactions. Or maybe it was just because I found Kathleen Glasgow's writing to be straightforward and simple, while delivering the emotional impact I was looking for. The topics, though dark, were written in a way light enough to be easily consumable, without ever nearing the line of turning them into lighthearted fluff.
I was completely engaged and invested from the first few pages as we are introduced in a very "Girl Interrupted" way, to Charlie, and we learn more of her and the world surrounding her. But I was truly most interested in her life outside, when she truly had to stand on her own and decide which path to walk down. How she struggled to survive on measly wages at a coffee shop, just trying to determine where her next meal would come from, not even having the most basic of necessities. How her instincts told her to shut out the world, but yet, she still craved human connection. How she recognized wrong behavior and toxic people but still graviated towards them because that was all she knew. The only way she felt accepted.
I ultimately just really appreciated the story and getting to know Charlie and watching her overcome her battles.
maddymcl's review against another edition
hopeful
sad
tense
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
4.5
penelopecanosreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
alyssareads17's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Death of parent, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
luciemagne's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
3.0
ezzyonyx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
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
4.5
rey_s623's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
emilaxx's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
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
5.0
5.5⭐️