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maidinnah's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Ableism and Death of parent
Moderate: Racism
Minor: Rape and War
marymwest's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- 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: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Rape
melodyseestrees's review
- 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
3.25
The edition I had did 'footnote' information in a jarring and disruptive way to the reading experience. Some whole pages had maybe a paragraph of information to them in an italicized font that was frustrating to read. These thoughts of Mia's surely could have been worked into the actual text as a mark of who she is as a person.
There were a few characters who appeared, did maybe two actions, and then disappeared never to be seen again
This book felt like it was trying to fit several stories into one- Harmonee's story, Mia's dad's story, Eugene's story, and Mia's memoir.
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Racism
Minor: Rape, Suicide, and War
skbat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, and War
kotletka_polina's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
But I liked this book. Even though it has too much yapping at times, I really sympathised with the characters, feeling what they were feeling at that moment: rage and infuriation at their fathers’s secrets, nervousness and suspicion with each new peace of information revealed. I even found the narrator relatable somehow.
Even though it’s not the vibe I expected to get I still pretty much enjoyed it. Read the entire book in a couple of sittings without getting tired of complicated vocabulary (English isn’t my first language). It brings awareness to numerous important subjects and highlights issues I hadn’t paid enough attention before. I liked this book more than I expected.
Graphic: Ableism, Racism, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Rape and War
sparklefarm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Grief
Moderate: Death and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Racism, Rape, and Pandemic/Epidemic
oceanwriter's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Racism
Minor: Rape and War
jaimc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
Graphic: Ableism
Moderate: Cancer, Cursing, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Bullying, Racism, Rape, Suicide, Car accident, and War
emma_sky's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Moderate: Racism, Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Rape, Suicide attempt, War, and Injury/Injury detail
_david_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
The main character shows some bad behavious: making quick assumptions, speaking around a nonspeaking character instead of to them, and just acting as a general teenager. However, the future main character, whose POV we're following, calls her past self out on it and voices her shame. In general I feel like Mia would've made more sense as a teenager than someone in college/uni.
The author's background in philosophy shines through, especially in the exploration of happiness. It's clearly written by someone with an academic background.
The ending left a positive lasting impression. I'm sure I will think back on it often during the rest of my life.
The reason that I'm giving the book 4 stars instead of 5 is because the writer POV often annoyed me with her perspective. I specifically refer to all the moments which said something along the lines of "but with the information I know now, why [odd thing] happened made sense" without any further explanation. It happened too much and sometimes for relatively minor occurrences. It disrupted the flow of the story and was hard to take serious after a while. A small point that I disliked but not enough to affect the score, that only Mia, Adam (the dad) and Eugene were well rounded characters. Hannah (the mother) and especially John were quite flat eventhough they were very important to the story.
Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Racism, Rape, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Dementia, and Classism