carebearnecessities'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
3.25
Spoiler
At one point towards the middle of the book, Ever is like- I feel like I’m learning so much about my heritage! And I’m like, ??? By this time you’ve skipped like all your classes after week 1– and we didn’t even get a lot of scenes with the Mandarin and calligraphy and Chinese medicine classes because more time was spent detailing the nights out and love triangle!Spoiler
Also, I feel like with the serious topics such as n*de leaking and severe depression, there should of been a little more care in its depiction? By this, I mean that for me—and maybe it’s subjective—but we forgave Sophie too soon. At one point Ever was saying, “we both hurt each other.” But I feel like kissing a guy that your friend likes and distributing p*rnography are two completely different levels of betrayal??? Plus, that “moment” with Xavier returning the last picture… was him admitting it to it supposed to be this sad, forlorn thing? Like him keeping the picture is not “romantic” or simp-y or teenage, love triangle angsty in any appropriate way, regardless of her already having slept with him. Lastly, with the portrayal of Jenna, maybe it’s just me but I really had this negative itch towards her continually being described as “frail” after her situation (with Rick) is finally revealed. And maybe there’s not much that could’ve been done since she wasn’t part of the camp, but her story seemed to be used to elevate Rick’s character development and tie that to the pressures in his life. Again, since she wasn’t a central character, maybe this could’ve been harder to incorporate through her lens, but still…. Anyways, I do appreciate that the book tried to cover these sensitive topics that should be discussed through literature. I think it’s just the fact of “”adult”” topics (granted, struggles with mental health, p*rnography, domestic abuse, and identity issues are things ’much younger people deal with also but I mean) told through a more “YA” lens.Graphic: Sexual harassment, Mental illness, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Physical abuse
princessm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Classism
elaineyh1216'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
3.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide attempt
heatherjchin's review against another edition
I got through half this novel before reading some reviews and spoilers because I had to see if all the guesses I had for the story trajectory and character development would come true and yup, they would. And actually ended up worse than I’d imagined. So I jumped to the end and decided to count this as a full Read here to give myself credit for reading through what turned out to be a trope-filled, caricature-heavy, shallow, problematic relationships on all levels, and unrootable-for protagonist novel.
The author does a good job with capturing the headiness and messiness of adolescence and young adulthood, and the emotional struggle between personal and parental dreams, but I couldn’t get past the framing of a lot of toxic relationship dynamics and decisions as just mistakes, excusable, not needing accountability or even to be taken seriously.
I also feel like readers who are not from the Chinese American and Asian American communities would find this more entertaining than many of us who live with the weight of these stereotypes daily.
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Grief, and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident, Cursing, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Gore, Blood, Classism, Mental illness, and Sexual content
revengesrose's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Ableism, Death of parent, Mental illness, Racism, Xenophobia, Physical abuse, Blood, Racial slurs, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, and Self harm
fremzz's review against another edition
2.75
Graphic: Alcohol
Moderate: Car accident, Mental illness, and Vomit
Minor: Domestic abuse
mandkips'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
3.0
Graphic: Toxic friendship and Racism
Moderate: Sexual content, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Racial slurs
internationalreads'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Chronic illness, Racism, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Medical content, Mental illness, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
maple_dove's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Child abuse, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Racial slurs
Profanitybburger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Mental illness, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse