scottyreadsstuff's review
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.25
I believe if I read this when I was in middle school or high school, I would have enjoyed this more. This is not to say that YA is a bad genre, I just think I've "grown out" of it somewhat. The prose wasn't the best and the big reveal seemed rather random with little motivation surrounding it. However, the plot was engaging enough and I did get summer vibes from reading Paper Valentine. Overall, this novel is a fairly decent summer-y YA mystery.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Eating disorder and Body shaming
Moderate: Toxic friendship
Minor: Animal death
If you're sensitive to profanity - like I am at times - I would rate this as "moderate".inkyinsanity's review
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is, and always will be, one of my favorite reads. The writing is gorgeous, the story engaging, and the characters vividly real-feeling. Plus the ghost has my name! Always a bonus, even if we share literally nothing else in common.
This is the book that convinced me to buy all of the rest of the author’s books, which was not a mistake. I love her writing.
This is the book that convinced me to buy all of the rest of the author’s books, which was not a mistake. I love her writing.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Eating disorder
Minor: Child death
butyougotmysoul's review
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
- 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
3.75
This book was a lot more emotional than I expected when I started it. It was also very well written. Tackles some very heavy feelings and issues.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Murder, Violence, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse
pastelwriter's review
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- 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
I have to say this book caught me by surprise! When I first started it, I was sure I was going to give it a maximum of 3 stars. The set-up of the book was rough—especially because of the character descriptions—but once the story really got going it was super easy to keep reading.
One of the things I really appreciated about this book was the complex relationship between Hannah and Lillian. The two of them have a fraught friendship because Lillian was a pain in the ass when she was alive, but Hannah still loved her. Their dynamic is further complicated by the fact that Lillian had an eating disorder that lead to her death, and Hannah is feeling guilt over “not doing enough” while also being mad her friend “did this to herself.” Although the conversations started by their relationship weren’t really resolved, I still appreciated having this discussed at all. I don’t think enough books feature friendships that border on toxic.
I also liked the “unconventional” love interest in this book who is a “bad boy.” The author really didn’t fuck around when it came to using him as an example of how troublemakers are quickly expected to do the worst things. Even if what he has actually done isn’t major, everyone still sees Finny as capable of a lot of wrong-doing. Even Hannah at one point questions if she can trust him because of his reputation. Apart from all that, though, I just liked Finny. He was really sweet and caring. Naturally, I adored him once I got to know him. I will always stan love interests that treat the main character with overwhelming kindness and good-will.
Finally, I rated this 4 stars instead of a 4.5 or a 5 stars because there was some language used in here that I was not into at all. Check my content warnings for what I mean. In addition, the resolution of the murder mystery was meh. At first I was super hype to find out who the killer was, but the big reveal was lackluster. Still. All of this just affected my rating mildly. I would still definitely recommend picking up this book.
One of the things I really appreciated about this book was the complex relationship between Hannah and Lillian. The two of them have a fraught friendship because Lillian was a pain in the ass when she was alive, but Hannah still loved her. Their dynamic is further complicated by the fact that Lillian had an eating disorder that lead to her death, and Hannah is feeling guilt over “not doing enough” while also being mad her friend “did this to herself.” Although the conversations started by their relationship weren’t really resolved, I still appreciated having this discussed at all. I don’t think enough books feature friendships that border on toxic.
I also liked the “unconventional” love interest in this book who is a “bad boy.” The author really didn’t fuck around when it came to using him as an example of how troublemakers are quickly expected to do the worst things. Even if what he has actually done isn’t major, everyone still sees Finny as capable of a lot of wrong-doing. Even Hannah at one point questions if she can trust him because of his reputation. Apart from all that, though, I just liked Finny. He was really sweet and caring. Naturally, I adored him once I got to know him. I will always stan love interests that treat the main character with overwhelming kindness and good-will.
Finally, I rated this 4 stars instead of a 4.5 or a 5 stars because there was some language used in here that I was not into at all. Check my content warnings for what I mean. In addition, the resolution of the murder mystery was meh. At first I was super hype to find out who the killer was, but the big reveal was lackluster. Still. All of this just affected my rating mildly. I would still definitely recommend picking up this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Eating disorder and Misogyny
Minor: Ableism, Child abuse, and Fatphobia
There’s also a suicide joke, but this is challenged by the protagonist.
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