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pennyante's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror and Abortion
Moderate: Alcoholism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
kiwi_00's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
- Romance aspect of the story-
I enjoyed the flirtations and dates of Rahul and Ivy and I wish that they had one final discussion about how she messed up and a possibility of fixing it (I wanted them to end up together), it was a shame that her inferiority complex towards her sister got in the way . - Mystery- Brilliantly done especially because the investigation is not some Sherlock Holmes/Hercule Poirot investigation where only they could have solved it. Since everything is so realistic and Gailey takes care to make sure that the details in the story align well enough that when particular details stuck out to me, I was trying to solve the mystery alongside Ivy even though I ended up being way off. Once the perpetrator is revealed and gives an explanation, it makes so much sense why
Tabitha did what she did but I was surprised that Ivy didn't say anything. Tabitha losing two people that she loves to cancer broke her mind and she was willing to do anything to save Sylvia even though she ended up killing her. Harbouring the feeling (and then finding out that Ivy blamed her) that she was somewhat responsible for her mother's death and then conjuring a plan to remove all the cancer from Sylvia? Despite being the perpetrator, you can't help but feel sympathetic - Magic- I liked how realistic it was, it felt so different to other stories about magic on a school campus.
It was more akin to science and even then just physics theory. I liked how in the background magic stuff was in comparison to the rest of the story especially the part about a prophecy and a 'Chosen One' . I think notbeing able to do magic is such an integral part of Ivy's inferiority complex towards her sister which helps to make Ivy feel more human than a perfect detective who solves every single case with no issues.
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Body horror
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
kassidyreads'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: Body horror, Cancer, Blood, Grief, Abortion, and Death of parent
Moderate: Bullying and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Vomit, and Alcohol
mycatnorbert'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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Abortion, Death of parent, and Alcohol
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, and Blood
starsnstitchin'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
4.75
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Stalking, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia
booksandteatime's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cancer, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Eating disorder
k_readingmorenow's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Gore, and Abortion
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
lipstickitotheman'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
3.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Blood, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Eating disorder, and Classism
erebus53's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The narration in this book as brilliantly delivered. The main character is jaded and sardonic, and is a lonely woman with a tendencies toward takeout food and alcoholism. Xe Sands narrates the character expressively and playfully, especially the parts where the characters are getting more and more inebriated. An interesting narrator; I might see if I can find other titles read by her.
As far as genre goes, the story is magic-school meets murder mystery, and a romantic twist, with the emphasis mostly on the crime solving stuff. As a result it slid off me a bit, because murder mystery things aren't really my preferred genre. I did like that there was diversity in the story. There were characters of different ages, and there were several queer (gay and pansexual) characters in this story, but the main character is a woman trysting with a man. Although the characters are ethnically diverse, their ethnicity is not focused on at all in the story.
The thing that probably drove me most to distraction was the slow pace. I generally love stories that dwell on the building of relationships between the characters, but the main theme of this book was the impossibility of being able to really bond with others if you aren't prepared to be honest with them, so the relationship building aspect felt shallow and unrewarding.
On a personal note, this book does deal with the aftermath of losing a mother to cancer. It probably says a lot about how much I have grieved and coped and healed that I didn't find this subject matter really upsetting, but rather, I felt like it represented real-life everyday tragedy and the failure of a family to cope because they couldn't share their feelings openly, and support each other in their loss.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Death, Drug use, Gore, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Pedophilia
sarahmanuel3's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Cancer, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Eating disorder, and Emotional abuse