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magicshop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
this isn't what i'd call a good or well-written series. my overall rating for each book is pretty much about that, as is usually the case. the enjoyment rating, though, which can often be wildly different for me, is a fucking doozy of a 4.5-5 star. i consumed these books so fast i'm pretty sure i wormholed into another dimension for a while there. (there were aliens. they also enjoyed it.)
keeping it simple: the good, the reaaaaally good, in summary, is basically all of the character writing and eventual relationship development. nora sakavic could wrestle an interesting inner monologue and/or dialogue/banter out of every single ancient spartan citizen if pressed. that's the key, and why these books (aside from the first) have such high ratings, i'd say.
a few more goods or good-ishs:
- relationships. you may know this as a romance series, but it's actually mostly romance-less contemporary for about 2/3rds of the way through. despite that, or maybe because of it, i have enjoyed the relationships immensely, including but not limited to the romantic ones.
- half the main cast is at least bilingual, and while it's quite unbelievable or at least confusingly questionable for some characters
now......... the bad (and sometimes reaaaaally bad, and sometimes actually not entirely bad at all and more complex but potentially ok than anything else):
- exy makes no sense. the rules don't make sense. the equipment doesn't make sense. i'm not even sure whether i can say nora tried her best to make it make sense or wrote every exy scene letting out villain laughs one after the other for several hours while ingesting copious amount of wine. either way, it's a mess, but it kinda doesn't try to be anything else so it's very easy to forgive.
- this book was written in the early 2010s and it shows. it has that typical early YA try-hardness going on, but i'd say as far as the ya i've read goes, it doesn't take itself too seriously. the way it's written makes it look like it's being taken very seriously, but there's something about it (similar to the lack of exy pretentiousness) that keeps it humble and grounded. you can tell nora didn't think this would be the next raven cycle or anything like that (though as a cult favorite it came almost close in the end??), she just sort of had fun with it. i can vibe with that.
- going along with the 2010s YA predicament, there isn't much political correctness involved, and certain slurs are thrown around semi-freely (mostly the r-word) by people who should know better. not a dealbreaker for me personally, but be aware.
- plot is neither here nor there. it's really just there to prop the characters and their develoment up and i wouldn't say it has anything particularly interesting or unique about it in itself. it's not what you'll care about. the people and relationships are.
- the stakes are so ridiculously high it's not even funny. everything is life or death for no reason, and everyone's been abused within an inch of their lives for most of their lives, no exceptions. these books are the definition of the "epic highs and lows of high school
- everything about andrew's condition and his medicine is a grade-a disaster. that's not how medicine works, that's not how psychiatry works, and the message that only sobriety from psychiatric medication (which, by the way, is not supposed to make you "high" and "manic" - you are taking the wrong medicine and you need to stop! adults should know AND enforce this!) can bring forth someone's "real self" was frankly insane even back in 2014. andrew needs better medical care, not to be forced to
phew, so! i can definitely say nora sakavic seems like a madman and a genius trying to decide which side to give into any given day, much like some of her characters, and i'd read just about anything she decided to write. and i hope she keeps deciding!
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexism, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Stalking, and Car accident
bellasbookish's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Alcohol
Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Acephobia/Arophobia
Minor: Rape and Self harm
please check tags I think I got most of them but.anniereads221's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
jjnich's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Abandonment, and Alcohol
wynterymess'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
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Police brutality, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Outing
Minor: Ableism, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
miamcmillan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Gore, Torture, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Grief, and Religious bigotry
taffyclouds's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Confinement, Hate crime, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Eating disorder, Violence, and Death of parent