keirahelena_'s review
emotional
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Homophobia
Minor: Pedophilia
imogenrose97's review
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Spoiler
The events of this book are completely surreal, though based on the author's experiences and I'm sure very close to so many others as well, the idea that someone who once loved you, would so badly want to traumatise both you and the child you both had, is incomprehensible to me.The character's name is revealed in two parts each once in the novel, revealing the author at the heart of the story. Her thoughts are two-sided, at once she yearns to see her son, understandably struggling to be without him so abruptly. This side is balanced with the emotional maturity of get this... an adult, she tries not to push, she knows what her ex-husband is trying to achieve and she patiently lets him carry it out, she doesn't bite back at the fictionalised version of herself that he tries to paint to the courts and to her son. Instead choosing to let his anger take its course, trusting her son to make his own mind up in the years that come. The second side is gratefulness to explore the self she is becoming without the need to parent, which has been stripped from her without her consent. Taking her freedom to date women recklessly (and at times cruelly), to change her style, to experience queerness as a rebirth like a teen with the confidence of an adult and all of the freedoms of both childhood and adulthood.
raynaforreal's review
2.0
I wanted to love this, but I really just didn’t. Giving it 2 stars because maybe it was just the translation I didn’t like.
margrou's review
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
elifaydin's review
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
booksandbulletjournaling's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
clhughes95's review
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
punkalaska's review against another edition
reflective
sad
fast-paced
- 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? Yes
3.5
mbad15's review
challenging
emotional
sad
fast-paced
- 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
4.0