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wickedgrumpy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
1.0
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
crystal689'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
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Terminal illness
ruthypoo2's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The story is complex and full of the realistic, though possibly a bit exaggerated in some cases, life situations that many people face. Throughout the story, the reader will feel a variety of emotions for each character as you learn about many, many gray areas that exist in their respective lives. But you can never feel you have the whole story because the author continually introduces revelations that can make you sympathize more and less and sometimes in between. Life is complicated and making assumptions about people without a clear picture of their experiences and motivations is a mistake.
This book has wonderfully contemporary themes, such as fear of burgeoning technology, crooked, greedy, and corrupt politics, old moral values versus personal rights, and the detestable fascination people have developed for reality entertainment, even when it celebrates the reprehensible human behavior. Taking all that into consideration, this was a highly entertaining book!
I listened to the audiobook and thought the cast of voice actors were excellent, giving each character in normal and dire circumstances a really fitting voice.
Moderate: Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Chronic illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Suicide, and Alcohol
andreabey'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicide, Violence, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, and Pregnancy
thequiltyreader's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I really enjoyed the exploration of the impact of making decisions based on the information you have to hand which is perhaps not reflective of the full picture.
This was the first John Marrs book I have read and I flew through it as I just had to know what would happen next. I am now on the look out for more of his books.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
sarah_amy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Grief, Stalking, and Death of parent
Minor: Miscarriage, Terminal illness, and Vomit
julienicole1106's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Islamophobia, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism, and Deportation
ellaticonstellation'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
5.0
The "hacker" was so interesting. The dark themes such as pedophilia, suicide, etc. made my skin crawl. I was so mad at Sofia's husband, Patrick. He dared to threaten her about his dark side. Disgusting was an understatement.
Oh, Sofia thinking that she joined a reality TV show was hilarious until it didn't.
Heide blackmailing his cheating husband was awesome in a way that he had a taste of his own medicine. The squirming and mine games made it all worth it.
The ending was interesting as well. And the triple life of Jude. Hey Jude✨
Thank you, John❤️
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Car accident, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and War
madanxiety's review against another edition
5.0
Aside from pace, I am also always a huge fan of ensembles, which is part of what initially sustained my attention. I was like damn, how many hostages are there? Lol.
More to the content of the novel, I liked how each character was flawed in a very human way, and yet the protagonist (who, despite all the other characters, I'd say is Libby) was still always someone you could route for. This was a skillful balance to maintain.
I also have a soft spot for anti-establishment narratives lol. As one of the characters states at some point, the real villains turn out to be people, not AI.
My only critique of the book is how characters of color are treated. I will say more under the cut, but ofc it will include major spoilers.
I might've written this off as simply revealing Alex's own biases and flaws, but POC in this book are pretty much all murdered or painted as villains. It seems like the narrative of the book leans sympathetic toward POC, with only unlikeable characters being outright racist, the POC still die unjust deaths. It's like, I get that the novel is meant to be representative of the ugly parts of reality, including the disproportionate victimization of POC, but idk if that's enough justification for using characters of color as mere plot devices or backstory, not when that's the plight of ALL of them.
Anyway, I think the book is an interesting exploration of how AI could be weaponized by both powerful people and vigilantes. It's a cautionary tale about being too trusting of technology with regard to the collection and sharing of private data.
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, and Murder
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer and Infertility