tea_kettle's review
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Transphobia, Child death, Grief, Homophobia, and Incest
Moderate: Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Dysphoria, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Infidelity
Minor: Deportation, Sexual assault, Vomit, Child abuse, Infertility, Pregnancy, and Rape
quidproqueer'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
4.5
Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Blood, Transphobia, Homophobia, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual violence, Violence, and Infertility
bookishauntysteph's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Incest, Death, and Misogyny
Moderate: Sexual content, Sexism, Infidelity, Grief, Blood, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Infertility and Islamophobia
stephmcoakley'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: Deadnaming, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Death, Blood, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Infertility, Outing, Sexual content, Transphobia, Child death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, and Injury/Injury detail
thewordsdevourer'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
there are def things in the story that i (bombastically) side-eye, however, bc they dont have to do all that to make a point. while the structure adds more mystery to already-known conclusion, it can also be confusing w/ the various timelines and povs. the pacing's quite uneven in the novel's first half as well, being too detailed at points and focusing too much on confusion around vivek's behavior, when more time couldve been given to the friend group's time tgt in juju's house or another safe space, just to make us feel even more for vivek's loss whose happy times are rarely shown in detail.
in sum, tho, this is a story filled w/ emotions and one that shows the struggles of queer ppl that still persist despite popular belief to the contrary and progress elsewhere. it's some sad stuff but it's def the reality for many.
Graphic: Homophobia, Transphobia, Infidelity, Death, Grief, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual assault, Lesbophobia, Blood, and Sexual content
Minor: Infertility
angievansprang's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Incest, Transphobia, Sexual content, and Death
Moderate: Mental illness, Eating disorder, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, and Hate crime
Minor: Vomit, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, and Infertility
lizsurber'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
4.25
Graphic: Abandonment, Body horror, Vomit, Homophobia, Outing, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Violence, Death of parent, Alcohol, Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Dysphoria, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, and Mental illness
Moderate: Deadnaming, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Islamophobia, Miscarriage, Alcoholism, and Pregnancy
directorpurry'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Biphobia, Blood, Incest, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Infertility, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Xenophobia and Fire/Fire injury
kasarin'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: Incest, Transphobia, Death, Homophobia, and Grief
Moderate: Rape, Infidelity, Domestic abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Violence, Sexism, and Sexual content
Minor: Sexual harassment, Lesbophobia, Infertility, Hate crime, Miscarriage, and Animal death
ramalam98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I found some of the character choices hard to understand and I feel like I struggled to connect with the characters, though I largely think this is because I wasn’t in the right mood.
Would love to reread.
Graphic: Sexual content and Death
Moderate: Homophobia, Infidelity, Deadnaming, Incest, and Transphobia
Minor: Alcohol and Infertility