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dustghosts'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal cruelty
jazzyreads_99's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
One thing about Kanae Minato’s writing is she has a way of getting you to feel for every one of her characters, even the bad ones that you don’t want to feel for. She also has a way of giving lots and lots of details that make you question “What is the point of all of this?” Because it doesn’t seem like it matters, yet as you read, every single detail ties in together for an excellent, exciting reading experience. I was on the edge of my seat, turning the pages rapidly because I could not put this book down.
To be honest, I did almost give this book 4 stars because the ending just…lacked something for me. I don’t know if I allowed people to just overhype it and set my expectations too high, but the ending wasn’t as much of a bang *pun intended* as I was hoping for. There was also one part of the book that I really did feel was a bit of a reach. *SPOILER AHEAD*
So this boy named Naoki, who after thinking that Moriguchi’s daughter was dead and panicking for several minutes while practically praying for her to wake up, suddenly decided to throw her into the pool to drown even after she opened her eyes to reveal that she was still alive, all because Shuya….said a few mean things to him a few minutes before? Ehh, a bit of a stretch in my opinion.
But I decided to overlook this because even with these two things that I didn’t like, I still had a 5 star reading experience. I love Kane Manato’s writing so much and I was fully immersed into her story that I genuinely felt like I was sitting right in that classroom with the rest of the characters! I loved how every single little tiny detail somehow tied in with one another and the riveting, page turning, beauty of a story this was. Kanae Manato definitely deserves 5 out 5 stars. Just to be safe for some people, there is a character in this book who seems to be suffering from Psychosis or something along those lines. So I’m adding to the list of trigger warnings.
Moderate: Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
cady_sass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
spooderman'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
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Transphobia, and Pregnancy
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Death of parent
chloseencounter's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
The strongest literary device here to me was that this book was the same exact story being told from different POVs multiple times, while this at moments felt a little repetitive I loved that every chapter could be the same events but a completely different story based on the narrator. Every new retelling flipped what you had known previously on its head which made you question each character. There were times where I felt disgust and sympathy toward each person and it all depended on who was talking.
I wasn’t sure how they’d wrap this all up but I think the end was a nice little tie up to the events of the story and ultimately as close to Justice as one could expect in a situation like this.
Overall, this was an interesting read and while it could’ve grabbed me more I did appreciate the use of unique story telling and I’m excited to watch the movie.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Toxic friendship
chrisljm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Child death, Death, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Abandonment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Vomit
ruaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Mental illness, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Miscarriage
dalmavatai's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Abandonment
alvina_ashraf's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
P.S: One incident is told many times so repetition can annoy some readers.
Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
lovelymisanthrope'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
5.0
I was not expecting this book to be as dark and twisted as it ended up being. This is a really vengeful story that verges on being sociopathic. However, it is one of my favorite books I have had the pleasure of reading this year. It was devastating to watch the characters' descent into madness, and how they ultimately drove themselves crazy. Just when you think the Dominio effect of revenge is over, something even more dark happens.
I will definitely be picking up more from this author!
Graphic: Mental illness, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship