Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - The Music of What Happens

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

The Music of What Happens, by Bill Konigsberg

24 reviews

_yeenaw's review

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emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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richie_the_forgetful_reader's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

2.5

The book had good ideas and concepts I just don’t think I liked the writing style and language choice. But it would be a good book for younger teens to read as it deals with difficult topics such as mental health, sexual assault and addiction in an accessible manner.

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piperclover's review against another edition

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I don't think there's anything wrong with this book exactly but I just had a really hard time connecting with anyone with anyone. The characterizations were always slightly off for me and I never could like any of the friends. I feel like I spent more time hearing that these boys like each other then I did hearing how they know each other and why they would like each other.

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frantic_vampire's review

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emotional funny 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

This book was not what I expected it to be. I thought I was getting one thing and ended up with something completely different. And that’s the thing I liked about it the most. It just grabbed me by the hand and wouldn’t let me go until the very end.

I felt so much for both Max and Jordan. For different reasons, but damn did this book go after my feelings every chance it got. I really liked that this dealt with a whole host of different issues, from mental illness and shitty parents to the aftermath of rape and consent. And none of it felt like it was forced or out of place in this story. Sure, there were some things that could have been handled a little better, but I felt like this book did a really great job getting its point across.

Over all this was a really great read and I would highly recommend it! This is getting a four and a half stars.

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alyxinthestars's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad slow-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

3.75

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lindsayrodier's review against another edition

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emotional lighthearted reflective fast-paced

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

2.0

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amandalorianxo's review against another edition

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emotional slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

If you are a fan of reading more books centered around boys falling for boys, consider checking this out. Located in Arizona, Jordan and his mom are struggling to keep a food truck running (it belonged to Jordan’s deceased father) In a panic, Jordan’s mom spots a lone person aka Max and enlists his help with the food truck. There were some elements that I liked that were presented such as the Mexican American rep, the discussion of sexuality as well as the discussion of mental illness. However, Jordan was too manipulative for me to enjoy seeing him in the story for more than a few seconds. I understand there are people who are insecure, especially in their younger years but this was too much. In addition, Jordan’s mom was also written in a way that showed only the awful sides of mental illness.

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bitsandbobsdivination's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective tense 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

2.75

I really enjoyed Openly Straight and it’s Sequel but this one just didn’t hit right.

Spoiler

The friend groups I felt really uncomfortable with right from the beginning and they never really redeemed themselves by the end. The “wives” especially as they felt so over the top and stereotyped. I know it was to make a point of GBF’s but one tiny mention at the end that it changed and suddenly all was good now was weird.

That being said, most of the plot if this book felt so strange and out of order at times too. Especially since there were a ton of plots mixing together for a climax that never really got solved… It just kinda did an after school special introspection about the title for a moment and then ended?? Plus the mom clearly needed help the whole time and then just got shoved under the bus? It could have been handled so much better!

That all being said, the way in which rape, dissociation, toxic masculinity, and self-esteem were covered were done much better but still, kinda clunky, like it could have been expanded upon in less choppy ways.

I’m sure I could go on about how Jordan and Max’s relationship was built up without any real chemistry, or how we had random chapters that were full on filler, but I’m gonna end it here by saying it wasn’t all bad, but I don’t plan on reading it again…

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kcbookshelf's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective relaxing 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? It's complicated

5.0

I read this at least once a year and still love it!

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phasesofthemoony's review against another edition

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emotional funny fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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