maryellen'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
3.5
Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content
indeedithappens's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Torture, Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Gun violence, Medical content, Gaslighting, Genocide, Sexual content, Slavery, War, and Xenophobia
Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Police brutality, Sexism, Deadnaming, Lesbophobia, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Death of parent
valpyre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
3.5 stars
it honestly took me a <i>really</i> long while to get into this book. i am glad i stuck with it -- it has a lot of heart and nuance. i personally found the plot fairly straight-forward (which is not a bad thing!) and for me, that gave it a more childish vibe than i was expecting. i did come to appreciate that as a balance to some of the heavier topics that were dealt with throughout, and i thought it was a fresh tone considering the protag and friends were teenagers. the dialogue throughout was kind of simplistic, in my opinion, and sort of broke immersion for me at times.
i enjoyed the inclusivity throughout the book, because anders showed that having such decency throughout didn't make for a utopia. the book actively confronted some of the more meta features of itself (like the types of alien species represented). i enjoyed and was touched by my listening experience, but i doubt that i'll be continuing the series.
Moderate: Genocide, Murder, Violence, Gun violence, Xenophobia, Mental illness, Medical content, and Death
Minor: War, Transphobia, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, and Fatphobia