ashleysager's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Murder, Suicide attempt, Child death, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Alcoholism, Addiction, Self harm, Grief, Death, Terminal illness, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicide
hypofocus's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Alcoholism, Cancer, and Child abuse
Minor: Misogyny and Gaslighting
sunburntghost's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Addiction, Violence, Outing, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
Minor: Terminal illness
texas_reznikoff'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cancer, Death, Alcoholism, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, Grief, Outing, Gaslighting, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Murder, Suicide, Death of parent, Homophobia, Violence, Bullying, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Cursing, Addiction, Infidelity, Medical content, Racism, and Toxic relationship
cristinareading'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
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, and Stalking
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Cancer, Racism, and Terminal illness
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gaslighting, Mental illness, Murder, Outing, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Cancer, Drug use, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Death, Suicide, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Violence and Mass/school shootings
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
taylorsevalia's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Child death, Infidelity, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Violence, Abandonment, Alcohol, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Grief, and Terminal illness
Minor: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Confinement, Mass/school shootings, Sexual content, and Vomit
likeactualsoulmates'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
4.0
This was freaking enjoyable. Where the clues to the mysteries were very obvious -and I'll go more in-depth on that- how interesting all the characters were stepped up to meet it. I didn't continue reading this book because I wanted to solve this mystery, I read this because I liked all of the characters and was invested in their story. All of the four main characters had something unique and relatable about them, a struggle they were going through. And even the side characters were great. By halfway into this book I was more invested in their lives going well than in the mystery being solved.
The clues weren't that greatly hidden, at least for me. I think maybe they were meant to be obvious, and the characters were so distressed they couldn't easily connect them.
Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Violence, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Death, Alcohol, and Bullying
Moderate: Terminal illness, Cancer, Cursing, Mass/school shootings, Outing, Physical abuse, and Addiction
Minor: Homophobia, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Mass/school shootings
ghosty_mushroom'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
5.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Mass/school shootings, and Outing
Minor: Cursing, Terminal illness, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Homophobia, and Drug use