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granny_rae's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
amaldae's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
And I... liked it more than I thought I would, but ultimately not as much as I might have. Ash is rude and immature and avoids introspection, which makes him an occasionally-frustrating main character. For the most part, I enjoyed the dynamic between him and Darian in that both of them did make me laugh. However, Ash consistently treats Darian poorly, which keeps the relationship fairly shallow.
I dislike it when the plot mainly progresses through things happening to the central couple instead of developing naturally between them. I felt like the two crucial plot points being driven by the actions of side characters kept Ash from growing. (The scene where his mental illness gets outed was properly upsetting. What an awful idea that people, let alone someone calling themselves your friend, sees you that way, gives you that little agency.) And so, when at the end they finally do decide to become an item, I didn't quite believe him even though he said all the right things. There was just a lot of character development I'd rather have seen on-page. A lot of hard moments that we all know are in the horizon, but that we never see the couple tackle together.
Those missing scenes were kind of why I read the book in the first place. I wanted to see someone actually living with their mental illness and fill their life with meaning again. What I got was yet another glittering tale of falling in love, but I wanted it to be so much more. It seemed to really get its characters and had all the ingredients to be more.
Graphic: Ableism, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, and Outing
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Toxic friendship
Minor: Biphobia, Drug use, Self harm, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol
catsteaandabook's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
Minor: Biphobia, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
jdasilva's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Cursing, Fatphobia, Homophobia, and Alcohol
adrianas65's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Suicide attempt, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Alcohol, and Classism
jei_reads_sometimes's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
slyg396's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
knittingtipsy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Classism
who_knew's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The "everything falls apart" parts of the story were really drawn out and dark... Not in a super scary dark way, just in a much less fun to read way. And that theoretically makes a lot of sense for this character, but the payoff in the resolution didn't really earn out the misery.
It felt like it was missing one chapter at the end really, something happier that showed that the couple could work together. And there were points of the book that felt like they could have been explored in some small epilogue.
I love this author still, and I had lots of little laughs while reading this. Always tough when something doesn't quite end the way you wanted it to, but it's a good book.
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
bluesmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia