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crusoe's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
The characters are wonderful! Sometimes they're selfish, sometimes they go through very tough circumstances and the part where Zooey distances himself from his friends was hard to read, but they're also very vibrant and their friendship in the end trumps all. It's one of the reasons why I love the multiple POV's in this story.
The connections to the historical context of its setting were also quite nice even if they played more into the story at the end.
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Moderate: Deadnaming, Pedophilia, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Sexual assault and Alcohol
meg_thebrave's review against another edition
- 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
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, and Death of parent
Minor: Cancer and Blood
goldenlake's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Deadnaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Biphobia
zpitts'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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
Moderate: Racism and Blood
avidreaderandgeekgirl'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? No
4.5
All opinions are my own.
I LOVED the narration! Having each MC have their own narrator enhanced the story.
This was a great book and very true to the times in terms of how queer people were treated. And that the author didn't shy away from the language. I loved that it was set in 1991 as it was able to include more queer historical elements, as the author said than 2001 would have had.
The main characters were great. Very lovable, I think Leo was my favorite. They were very well fleshed out. I just wish that some of the other characters besides the primary 4 were more full characters. Like maybe if the bully had a more extensive backstory. Or more from Lucas would have been great!
I'm a sucker for dark academia which is probably one reason why I really enjoyed it. It was a great setting, but I also enjoyed the parts outside of it. I like that this tackled hard topics as well as being funny.
Overall a great book!
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Drug use, Racism, and Vomit
Minor: Racial slurs
This is mostly in a historical context, so it's true to the times in which the book takes place the 1990s.