lanid's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Physical abuse, Animal cruelty, Confinement, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Violence
antimony's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
things went downhill from there.
part 3. was not very good. it started strong, though not as strong as the first two parts. and it was ok. nice to see where the characters ended up. or something. but then they started to be a tad annoying, and then the timeskips began. these timeskips drove me mad. it was like we skipped the most convenient times to make things happen without having to be explained. like she wanted laurence and patricia to get together despite not really having chemistry? skip a few weeks and cut to them having sex (speaking of which.....i generally skip sex scenes, so im not really a good source for what's good or bad, but this one was pretty bad). the world is falling apart but you want to skip to the good part where it already has? cool! skip a few months and the collapse is no longer impending and you don't have to write anything actually falling apart. >:\
part 4 was a tad redeemable. things stopped making sense but i liked that
Spoiler
laurence told isobel abt magic and lost his voice. this may seem strange of me but idk it was satisfyinf.anyway. very strong start, which descended into something i did not like, which rose up to fizzle out and not quite be good or bad. points for the beginning & the writing bc i do like this style and i also like being nice.
Graphic: Sexual content, Violence, Animal cruelty, and Death
Moderate: Confinement
Minor: War
kimberly28's review against another edition
4.0
I think I pretty much hate adult books from the perspective of kids, so that's the first third out. Like I didn't see the twists coming at all when it was connections between the childhood stuff and the adult stuff because I'd closed off the childhood part as just something I'd struggled through and the adult part is the "real" book, which is nonsense.
But also the ending I found extremely rushed and unsatisfying, way too ambiguous. I had no idea how in the world the author was going to bring things in at the end because so much was going on and there were so few pages left! And then it turned out the author didn't know either whoops
But the rest though! I think I'll be recommending this despite the parts I strongly disliked, particularly because the children's-perspective thing might just be a me problem. I was feeling bad that I wasn't reasonably going to be able to give this 5 stars when I was almost at the end because I LOVED it so much, but I had to remember that I struggled so bad through the first part. But then the ending was a letdown so lol I didn't feel so bad. Still, a 4 is a triumph given all that!
Moderate: Death of parent, War, and Violence
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual content, Alcohol, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Violence, Bullying, Murder, and Vomit
talonsontypewriters's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Death of parent, Injury/injury detail, Child abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Gun violence, Murder, Stalking, Alcohol, Medical content, Animal death, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Drug use, Body horror, and War
Minor: Vomit, Rape, and Self harm
taram's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Bullying and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Confinement, and Death of parent
nabecker13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Death, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Death of parent
f18'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Injury/injury detail, Murder, Sexual content, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, and War
shhhh__sam'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Violence, War, and Bullying
Minor: Emotional abuse
dokushoka'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
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, and Cursing
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, and Violence
Minor: Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Torture