ghostlyprince's review against another edition
inspiring
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Body shaming, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Biphobia, Classism, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Vomit, and Alcohol
bocasbri's review against another edition
3.5
Spoiler
this book touches on serious topics and definitely is good for a young adult audience. josie is faced with a challenging piece about sexual assault, abuse of power, and silencing of victims. through working on this piece josie grows tremendously as a character.i did feel a bit iffy about the romance, it really just felt out of place. also, the characters would sometimes act in very odd ways, it would later be explained (for the most part), but it just felt very out of place and would take me out of the story quite a bit.
chandraleereads's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 stars rounded up. I liked this book overall but it felt a bit clunky at times. The protagonist, Josie, was supposed to be an amazing journalist, but it never SHOWED that. I get that she also has anxiety (same), but it felt like that trait was the only one featured when she interviewed various people for her work. I really appreciated the anxiety rep, but it seemed to overshadow everything else about Josie.
anna1306's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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? It's complicated
3.5
lawbooks600's review against another edition
3.0
Representation: Black main character
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault and harassment mentioned
6/10, this just wasn't a good YA novel, I've never heard of this author, but the first book from her left me feeling underwhelmed so the author is not off to a good start since I found so many issues within the plot that drastically lowered my enjoyment of this and if the author resolved these problems it would've been a better book so where do I even begin? Despite being 300 pages long, this novel was difficult to get through, the story is about Josie Wright or Josie for short and she wants to write an article exposing a guy called Roy Lennox, for sexually assaulting and harassing some people, but it took forever for her to do that, she just drank a bottle of wine, fell in love with a character, stopped liking him, and then liking him again? I don't understand why every single character's race and gender had to be mentioned, and Josie was just so whiny all the time, but I didn't realise she had anxiety, that explains all the pessimistic thoughts she has. If you want a book with a female lead and also is more impactful than this skip this one and try When the Ground is Hard instead.
Trigger warnings: Sexual assault and harassment mentioned
6/10, this just wasn't a good YA novel, I've never heard of this author, but the first book from her left me feeling underwhelmed so the author is not off to a good start since I found so many issues within the plot that drastically lowered my enjoyment of this and if the author resolved these problems it would've been a better book so where do I even begin? Despite being 300 pages long, this novel was difficult to get through, the story is about Josie Wright or Josie for short and she wants to write an article exposing a guy called Roy Lennox, for sexually assaulting and harassing some people, but it took forever for her to do that, she just drank a bottle of wine, fell in love with a character, stopped liking him, and then liking him again? I don't understand why every single character's race and gender had to be mentioned, and Josie was just so whiny all the time, but I didn't realise she had anxiety, that explains all the pessimistic thoughts she has. If you want a book with a female lead and also is more impactful than this skip this one and try When the Ground is Hard instead.
fionak's review against another edition
3.0
I found myself getting irritated repeatedly by the predictability of the plot. The characterization, pacing, etc. were good but this was too formulaic to offer real enjoyment.
kawthar114's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
crabber's review against another edition
4.0
Incredibly great read that has a very interesting backbone to it as well, some dialogue were stuff but besides that the writing on this thing was amazing! I will have to check out this author more!!
qjayereads's review against another edition
emotional
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I loved that the main character did eventually open up and begin to trust herself.