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chelle22's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
sad
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Terminal illness
lawbooks600's review against another edition
dark
emotional
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? Yes
4.0
Representation: Side Latino character
Score: Seven points out of ten.
I wanted to read this for a while after I read The Fault in Our Stars (a book similar to this one) and not long after, I finally read it. When I finished it, I had a lot of thoughts on the story, for one it left me feeling what I would best describe as gutted, but simultaneously I felt a disconnect from the characters and I could never fully relate to them. Now with that out of the way, the novel starts with the main characters Stella Grant, or Stella (wait a minute, I've heard of that name) and Will Newman, or Will, living in the hospital for their entire lives since they have a terminal illness. The first aspect that irked me was the instant love. Come on. They only met each other for a little while and then suddenly they start a relationship (That reminds me of The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.) Really? The dialogue was also unrealistic since I felt like I was listening to a conversation between two philosophers instead of teenagers, which is a shame since if that was fixed the story would've been slightly better. This novel also talks a lot about cystic fibrosis but here's the catch: I don't have CF. It's not clear on whether the narrative is an accurate portrayal or a misrepresentation, but I'd suggest reading reviews from people who have this condition. Did I mention the emotional manipulation is off the charts? There's so much talk about death, like how Stella lost her sister in a cliff diving accident, and another character died. I get that Stella was sick and tired of being controlled all the time but that doesn't mean she can be as reckless with her life (to the point where she almost died) as she wants. The ending is a somewhat high note and I enjoyed reading that. Wow.
Score: Seven points out of ten.
I wanted to read this for a while after I read The Fault in Our Stars (a book similar to this one) and not long after, I finally read it. When I finished it, I had a lot of thoughts on the story, for one it left me feeling what I would best describe as gutted, but simultaneously I felt a disconnect from the characters and I could never fully relate to them. Now with that out of the way, the novel starts with the main characters Stella Grant, or Stella (wait a minute, I've heard of that name) and Will Newman, or Will, living in the hospital for their entire lives since they have a terminal illness. The first aspect that irked me was the instant love. Come on. They only met each other for a little while and then suddenly they start a relationship (That reminds me of The Sun is Also a Star by Nicola Yoon.) Really? The dialogue was also unrealistic since I felt like I was listening to a conversation between two philosophers instead of teenagers, which is a shame since if that was fixed the story would've been slightly better. This novel also talks a lot about cystic fibrosis but here's the catch: I don't have CF. It's not clear on whether the narrative is an accurate portrayal or a misrepresentation, but I'd suggest reading reviews from people who have this condition. Did I mention the emotional manipulation is off the charts? There's so much talk about death, like how Stella lost her sister in a cliff diving accident, and another character died. I get that Stella was sick and tired of being controlled all the time but that doesn't mean she can be as reckless with her life (to the point where she almost died) as she wants. The ending is a somewhat high note and I enjoyed reading that. Wow.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Full trigger warnings: Chronic and terminal illness (cystic fibrosis), near-death experience, hospitalisation, hypothermia, death of a sister and child from a fall in the past and another child, grief and loss depiction_fallinglight_'s review
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Terminal illness, and Medical content
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Abandonment and Deportation
a_wren_that_reads's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Pregnancy
sarahcrowell's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
avajade's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness and Death
Moderate: Cursing and Grief
Minor: Death
dramagirl2003's review against another edition
emotional
sad
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I loved this book! the tension between Stella and Will was palpable
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness
Moderate: Death and Grief
Minor: Deportation
epellicci's review against another edition
hopeful
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
This story was sweet, but if you've read John Green's "A Fault In Our Stars" then you will find it very familiar.
Despite the 16+ age of the characters and themes of terminal illness and grief the story covered, I found it overall quite childish. I think for the target audience it probably isn't so much of an issue, but the good girl/bad boy romance dynamic was so clichéd and I found the 'whirlwind' love cringy.
Despite this, the characters were mostly likeable and the tight-knit, family nature of the hospital setting brought enough dimension to Stella's that she felt believable - helped by the fact that she was interesting outside of her relationship to Will, we got a sense of her whole life, rather than only engaging with her as her illness.
This is a done before, but likeable non-the-less quick read.
Despite the 16+ age of the characters and themes of terminal illness and grief the story covered, I found it overall quite childish. I think for the target audience it probably isn't so much of an issue, but the good girl/bad boy romance dynamic was so clichéd and I found the 'whirlwind' love cringy.
Despite this, the characters were mostly likeable and the tight-knit, family nature of the hospital setting brought enough dimension to Stella's that she felt believable - helped by the fact that she was interesting outside of her relationship to Will, we got a sense of her whole life, rather than only engaging with her as her illness.
This is a done before, but likeable non-the-less quick read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Child death and Death
kaylaiscool321's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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? Yes
5.0
It was so sad but so good 😭
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death
miacorkum's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death