coolgirlsread's review against another edition
3.5
Spoiler
What are you doing here, honey? You're not even old enough to know how bad life gets.Obviously, Doctor, you've never been a thirteen-year-old girl.
the book tells about the lisbon girls in their sheltered christian suburban home told from the perspective of the creepy, once-adolescent boys in their neighborhood. although i appreciate how we seem like we are only looking at the lisbon girls from afar, just as the boys did, i feared that because the reader is very far from the girls, they might not actually feel connected to them. but then again, i guess that was the point of the book. the reader is just close enough to know what goes on their lives but don't really get to know them outside of the descriptions people around them give which emerged from their own preconceived opinions of the girls, just like the boys who seemed like they know the girls by spying on them but never really got to know them to be able to understand the suicides. but because of this, i wasn't as invested on the characters and was only curious whether the reason for their suicides are revealed truly in the book.
the charm in the book is that it is told in a very unserious way, like the girls and their suicides were some sort of entertainment in their boring, mundane lives, because it somehow portrays how suicides are taken and seen in real life, that somehow they can be rationalized or blamed on capitalism and treated like the plague or viewed as a selfish thing, not really a serious thing that is pressing and is more complex and that not one person or factor can be blamed for it. the lisbon girls are treated as some sort of theater characters under a harsh, over-critical spotlight and people forget that they are just girls. and im not saying this in a sexist way but im saying this as i personally experienced being a thirteen-year-old girl, although not from a middle class suburban household, and i did experience a certain feeling of wanting to die, but in retrospect is just me feeling very trapped in a small town and wanting to wallow in my own sadness forever because i do believe that melancholy and the morbid desire for it is inherent to a young girl. i'm just a girl, why do i have to go through such things and why can't i escape my bubble despite my constant wishing for it. im also not saying that my experience is universal and that it is similar to the lisbon girls, im just saying stuff in an attempt to relate the topic back to me, which i tend to do because if the topic is not related to me like, what's the use?
is it important to understand and know the reason why the lisbons had to die? maybe? maybe not? but then again i think the focus here should not be trying to understand the suicides only when we know the reason for it but maybe it's about understanding that suicides do happen and that people should sympathize despite not knowing the whole story and most especially the reason for it instead of saying stuff that simplifies it for their own benefit (not really a eureka! statement but whatever, im that superficial)
this review is all over the place but all i wanted to say was i hope the movie is better (haven't seen the movie)
maria_g's review against another edition
dark
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
katesreadsssss'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? It's complicated
3.0
janabananaaaa's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.5
Love Lux and everything she does, rest was too slow for me.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual violence, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Suicide
ice_pack_hands's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
shwetamadhuz's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
The good: beautiful writing style that wonderfully captured the shallow male gaze and the irony of a girlhood where the sisters were seen but never understood
The bad: weirdly paced with lengthy slow descriptive chapters and then quick fast paced but important chapters; I get what its brings to the narrative but found myself getting bored in the middle
The bad: weirdly paced with lengthy slow descriptive chapters and then quick fast paced but important chapters; I get what its brings to the narrative but found myself getting bored in the middle
evienuttall's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
annikajansen's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
sarakempp's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.75