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addythebookbat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
travelseatsreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The story centres around Alexa Wu and her struggles with DID (Dissociative Identity Disorder). Quite early on we're introduced quite openly to some of her personalities. There's Runner who seems quite brutish but will always have Alexa's back, there's Dolly an adorable childlike persona who exudes pure innocence, Oneiroi the only voice of reason and The Fowls who are there to wreak havoc. This is where the book flourishes as it's fascinating to see how the personalities interact and the impact that they have, both positive and negative, on her everyday life.
Parts of the book are also told from the POV of Alex's psychiatrist Daniel Rosenstein and to be honest this is where it starts to get messy and unrealistic. It's incredibly hard to see his character as a plausible medical professional due to a host of issues including gross breaches in patient confidentiality and huge multiple crossings of many boundaries. If this was part of the storyline fair enough but this is passed off as pretty normal behaviour and not really addressed.
Overall, an interesting read but I think I would have enjoyed it so much more if it concentrated mainly on Alexa, her personalities and their origins, interactions and impacts.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
amberinpieces'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Trafficking, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Suicide
stephbakerbooks'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
We get two first-person POVs, from Alexa and her therapist, Daniel. I would’ve liked it better if Daniel’s chapters were just gone...I never understood why his POV was included! To me, they didn’t add anything to the story, and he was kinda creepy anyway. Alexa was a much more interesting character and I would’ve rather just stayed in her head. I loved learning about her different personalities and seeing how they interacted with each other—that was the best part of this book.
The plot...was intense. This was a lot darker than I was expecting—be wary of the content warnings below. I’m not sure if it was all just for shock value or what, but a lot of it seemed unnecessary to me. Maybe it’s just not my kind of book.
Short chapters made for a quick read and I suppose it did entertain me...but I’m just left wondering what my takeaway from this book should be beyond an icky feeling.
(My initial take on this was three stars but I’ve decided to change it to two...)
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Incest, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief