mirrorballrs'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Trafficking, Violence, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Injury/injury detail, Sexual violence, Death, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
reiley_61'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
4.25
I read this book tirelessly because I wanted to escape from it. I wanted to get away from the pain and suffering. I needed to see a spark of hope. And I feel as if I can’t rate this book because I want to give it five stars and I want to give it one star and I can’t decide because my heart is racing so fast and my eyes are burning and I’m shaking but I’m sitting here, writing this review, even though I can’t rate this book. But this review will be very vulnerable. Because one thing this book taught me is that you don’t need to be ashamed of your past.
“I’d just never seen a girl with skin like mine.”
I had to pause when I read this line. Because you hear about. You hear about other people. But actually witnessing it, realizing that someone else has the same struggles that you’ve dealt with, sends a wave of comfort, of reassurance, that “Hey, maybe I’m not alone in this big, big world.” Charlie’s life was not like mine. I understand how privileged I am. I can’t even begin to imagine the horrors she saw, and I had to close the pages multiple times to recover. But even with this, I saw myself in parts of her story. She has skin like mine.
“There are so many things wrong with you and it doesn’t matter.”
The words Charlie wanted to hear most in the world. The words she never really heard, but there were times when she felt them. As she healed, as she found love, the real kind. But with the search for love comes mistakes. One of those major mistakes was Riley West. Riley was flawed. Every character in this book was flawed. But none of them were flawed beyond repair. Which was maybe the thing I loved most. The proof that healing is possible. Things can get better.
“Riley will hold me, keep all my bad things in. He can do that, at least for right now, right?”
Riley is bad for Charlie. Charlie is bad for Riley. They are both so desperate for healing that they end up making each other work. Two hurt people do not make a whole person, as Riley once believed. Their relationship was gasping for acceptance and support from the other person, but neither of them had enough to spare. They were barely holding each other up. Yet they were so drawn to each other. It was a process for Charlie to cut Riley out, still missing him, even through all the mistakes he made, even after he’d told her, “No.” And it was so strong of her to leave during the tribute. To refrain from returning to her past. Two broken people healing together typically leads back to more brokenness.
However, that is not the case with Blue.
“We have to hold onto each other, Charlie… We can’t let go.”
After Blue’s breaking point, after she realized how far things can really go, she made a 180 shift to the present. Back to her life. Back to the life she wanted to live. And then she lived it. And she and Charlie made each other better. Because they were there for support. They were changed, and they knew it. And I personally believe that everyone needs a Blue. They are the found family trope. I hope they continued to love each other, even after Charlie moved. Actually, I don’t hope. I know they did. That kind of bond cannot be broken.
“I have a voice. I have a place for my voice.”
This book was all about the importance of expressing your voice. Of having an outlet. A creative outlet. A healthy outlet. The outlet that each character found was the turning point in their life. My outlet is reading. Outlets are necessary. Outlets need to be talked about more. Outlets can save a life, which was shown so many times in this. And that is so important.
“Because even that small kindness, even for such a brief time--it was something.”
The final thing I will be discussing, though there are so many other things I could speak on, was the importance of small acts of kindness. How the small things were what got Charlie through her worst days. And the big acts of kindness as well. Everyone needs love. This is indisputable. But some people have been deprived of it for so long that they have learned to function without it. That doesn’t make it any less important. In fact, it makes it even more important. It makes the good kind of love important. But when people are love-starved, they will take anything they can get, even if it’s the most gut-wrenching, toxic kind of love they can get. Because without it, they will most likely die. So the message I got out was to always show people the good kind of love. The kind of love Charlie Davis needed. The kind of love we all need.
Graphic: Child abuse, Injury/injury detail, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Cursing, Grief, Medical content, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Addiction, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Rape, Panic attacks/disorders, and Suicide
eli__minecraft's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Drug use, Self harm, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Death, and Grief
finiscelinis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I do not recommend this to mentally ill people. Too brutal and triggering.
Graphic: Death of parent, Addiction, Mental illness, Sexual content, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Blood, Death, Toxic relationship, Injury/injury detail, Rape, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Suicide attempt, Drug abuse, Grief, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, and Violence
Moderate: Cursing, Abandonment, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Rape, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing, Bullying, Body shaming, Child abuse, Car accident, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, and Vomit
Brutalryankaybee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Vomit, Addiction, Drug abuse, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Grief, and Mental illness
hayley07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Injury/injury detail, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic relationship
lauryn_04's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Injury/injury detail, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Death, Medical content, Physical abuse, Abandonment, Blood, Self harm, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Confinement, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Trafficking, Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Sexual content, Violence, and Bullying
moon_watcher's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Injury/injury detail, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, Grief, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Gore, Grief, Sexual content, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Death, Drug use, Injury/injury detail, Suicide, and Self harm
Minor: Toxic relationship
bookswithlauren'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
There were things I liked about this book and things I did not like. Firstly, as much as I wouldn't wish the experience on anyone, I am glad the author is writing from personal experience. There is nothing worse that false representation, stereotypes and under researching when is comes to mental health representation within literature. The personal experience of the author made the incredibly important representation and experiences explored in the book real and accurate. However, despite the authors real life experience I don't think the topic was handled with the delicate nature it should have been. I do not think we should sugar coat mental health by any means but I also think the graphic descriptions of self harm throughout this book were unnecessary and extremely triggering. There were many points during the book when I question why the particular content I was reading was included. Paragraphs detailing different types of self harm, different mechanisms of injury and different implements to use in order to self harm were just completely unnecessary to raise awareness. Some ailments of the book read as a how to and I cannot comprehend why the author would include such things know how damaging it could be for those reading.
I also think there were too many main plotlines happening within the book that were never fully explored and it took hold of the main focus rather than it being on the main characters journey and experience during her recovery. The toxic relationship between the 17 year old main character and a 27 year old side character added nothing to the plotline other than yet another trauma and experience of manipulation and exploitation for our main character. Focusing and really exploring just a couple of trauma's rather than all of them could really have improved the plotline and kept the focus on raising awareness about self harm, mental health and recovery.
There are not many books out there that approach the topic of self harm and that needs to change. I appreciate the representation and the awareness. However, I would be hesitant to recommend this book to anyone (especially anyone vulnerable or with personal experience with self harm) due to how graphic and triggering it is.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Bullying, Cursing, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Trafficking, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Grief, Injury/injury detail, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Car accident, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Rape, Self harm, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual assault, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Toxic friendship
goldyyy's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Alcohol, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/injury detail, Gore, Death of parent, Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Grief, Drug use, Drug abuse, Blood, and Addiction
Moderate: Sexual assault, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Sexual violence, Rape, Child abuse, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Physical abuse