jessicayaun'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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Homophobia, and Child death
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Abandonment, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcohol, Car accident, Stalking, Medical content, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Outing, and Grief
avidreader12345'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: Suicide
Moderate: Sexual content and Violence
Minor: Car accident and Homophobia
abbley5's review
- 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: Death, Violence, Toxic relationship, Sexual content, and Self harm
Moderate: Alcohol
duchess16's review
- 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
4.25
Spoiler
but Cooper being gay kinda threw it for me and knocked it down for me, plus allllll the secular talk about hooking up and all that was not my cup of tea. otherwise this would’ve been a 5 star read. THE ENDING THO BRO IT WAS SO DEPRESSING AHHH I mean I knew who it wasn’t the wholllle time. I knew it wasn’t any of the 4, for a while I thought it might be the teacher and for a split second I thought it was Maeve and thennn for a while I thought it was jake but never did I think it was a dark suicidal murder pinning conspiracy. It was well written tho. The characters all had their large flaws. But good moments as well.Graphic: Drug use, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Violence, Sexual content, and Suicide
maeri's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, Infidelity, Homophobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Death of parent, Child abuse, Bullying, Alcohol, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Self harm, Alcoholism, Outing, Murder, Addiction, and Abandonment
yasneaker's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Suicide, Alcohol, Death, Drug use, Violence, Cursing, and Murder
Moderate: Sexual content, Cursing, and Blood
fiona_reads_books'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
5.0
Graphic: Physical abuse and Death
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Outing, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Homophobia, Self harm, Alcohol, Drug use, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, and Sexual content
sophiemartin'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
Moderate: Infidelity, Racism, Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Blood, Bullying, Homophobia, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, and Injury/Injury detail
hannnahk's review
- 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
Moderate: Drug abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
classicpseudonym'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
3.75
i feel like i was more hooked than i'm willing to admit because this was a typical ya book about high school and murder (except by peanut oil i guess), but i still wanted to read on even though this doesn't exactly align with my book tastes. and the build-up of everything was pretty well executed, so props to mcmanus on a thrilling debut.
on the other hand, i'm looking back immediately after and i feel like i didn't really get anything out of it? if that makes sense. i wasn't a big fan of the hold that romance and relationships had on the plot and the book overall, but that's just how high school is portrayed in general, and i'm not a big romance person so i'm probably just biased. me saying "i didn't get anything out of it" isn't to say that the psychological themes and the perspectives/narration of each of the characters wasn't interesting, but i just feel like i wouldn't want to read this book again. like the case with two can keep a secret (which i don't remember anything about, then again its been years) i don't think i'd remember anything about the book besides the ending (which will haunt me even though i felt it coming) in a few months.
Spoiler
now that i'm thinking about it, simon's character is going to haunt me for the rest of my life. from the reference to the omniscent narrator at the beginning of the book, to the way he planned on dictating "his story" even from the grave... chilling. god.so if you want fast paced, thrilling, and haunting in a ya sort of way read, i'd recommend. there are a lot a lot of trigger warnings though, so i'd recommend that people keep that in mind if they read. if you tend to stay away from ya thriller/mystery books like i do, maybe still give it a read if you're bored because i feel like it's decently well done, but it wasn't my favorite book personally and it might not be yours either. then again, i think it's just because i think too much and i gravitate towards books that are really deep and get my mind all jumbled on the issues of society. but that's a me problem. pretty good book overall though.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Suicide, and Self harm
Moderate: Mass/school shootings, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Toxic relationship, Outing, Alcoholism, Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Addiction, and Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent