abbiechron's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
What started off as a surface-level read bloomed into a beautiful story of finding one's way. At times it was painfully predictable, for example, , but the beautiful youth and growth shown through and allowed for room for my predictions to be flawed in the best ways. Don't skip this read.
Spoiler
Mika and ThomasGraphic: Grief, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, Alcohol, Bullying, Cancer, and Cursing
Minor: Animal death, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Blood, Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Drug use, and Medical content
Job loss, immigrationakswhy's review against another edition
emotional
inspiring
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Come for the diverse Gilmore Girls vibes, stay for the bestie and the zaddy. The first third is a painful study in self-inflicted problems, but the last 2/3 is a heartfelt and sometimes harsh look at what parenthood should and shouldn’t be. I think Jean hammers a little too hard when expressing the universality of Mika’s struggles, but the message is good even when it is heavy-handed.
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Rape, Alcohol, Pregnancy, Death of parent, and Sexual content
Moderate: Terminal illness
Minor: Child abuse
kaitlinlovesbooks's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- 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: Rape
Moderate: Pregnancy, Emotional abuse, Death, Death of parent, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Grief
The main character gives her daughter up for closed adoption when she is 18, and is reunited with her child when her daughter turns 16. This book very briefly touches on the complexity of transracial adoption and the associated trauma, but it is not the focus of the story. Also, the adoptive mother dies before the start of the novel, so there is both a warning for death of a parent and death of a spouse. The novel focuses more deeply on the estranged relationship between the main character and her mother, who is emotionally distant and controlling.
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