jpleitez1's review against another edition
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-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
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content
Moderate: Death of parent, Cursing, Blood, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Abortion
piperclover's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
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
4.25
This reminds me of The Sky Blues by Robbie Couch a little and I loved that book too. If you're familiar with that book this one ends similarly and I think it's done equally as well as in The Sky Blues. The ending of this book is really what saved it for me from being just a 3.5 star to being over a 4 star. It's really funny, all sides characters are interesting and fleshed out enough that they have distinguishing characteristics, and the instigating plot isn't as stupid as I feared.
For a large portion of the book I was wishing it was 3rd person and dual POV but by the end of it I was actually very glad that it was a first person solo POV because I think you get more out of the story that way. I also absolutely love that Tommy is super blunt and honest but not in a mean way. He calls out people's bad behavior and to their faces but also accepts when hes done wrong and apologizes for it appropriately. YA novels tend to make the main character very one-note and overly accepting of other people's bad behavior but not this one. I'm so pleased withe end couple and would love a sequel about them. The narrator is good too.
I do wish that certain points were emphasized more like.
I really disliked that the timeline is fairly vague so I was confused when suddenly a character would say "that was 4 months ago" bc I had no idea a week had even passed. And if you have a fear/dislike of blood like I do, you want to be really careful around chapters 34 and 35. The blood and injury description is very graphic and made me physically ill.
For a large portion of the book I was wishing it was 3rd person and dual POV but by the end of it I was actually very glad that it was a first person solo POV because I think you get more out of the story that way. I also absolutely love that Tommy is super blunt and honest but not in a mean way. He calls out people's bad behavior and to their faces but also accepts when hes done wrong and apologizes for it appropriately. YA novels tend to make the main character very one-note and overly accepting of other people's bad behavior but not this one. I'm so pleased withe end couple and would love a sequel about them. The narrator is good too.
I do wish that certain points were emphasized more like
Spoiler
how creepy and gross it is for a 21yo to be dating a 17yo. Tommy points out that the 21yo buying alcohol for minors is skeevy but doesn't outright say that the age gap is actually disgusting. Also there are 2 instances of cheating by kissing and Tommy doesn't feel outraged or guilty enough about it.I really disliked that the timeline is fairly vague so I was confused when suddenly a character would say "that was 4 months ago" bc I had no idea a week had even passed. And if you have a fear/dislike of blood like I do, you want to be really careful around chapters 34 and 35. The blood and injury description is very graphic and made me physically ill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Medical content, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
phoebesnow's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood and Injury/Injury detail
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