prairieraven's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Bullying, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Body shaming, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Genocide, Injury/Injury detail, Misogyny, Outing, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Grief, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Suicide attempt, Alcoholism, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Rape, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
olivia_sz'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Outing, Death, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Suicide
Moderate: Cancer and Medical content
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Self harm, Gore, Alcohol, Car accident, Gun violence, and Suicide attempt
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
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
citrus_tart's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Medical content and Death
cara_nm's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Grief, Suicide, and Violence
Moderate: Bullying and Infidelity
Minor: Alcohol, Cancer, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Outing, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Medical content, Mental illness, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, and Homophobia
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
booksbyantheia'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
Y quizás hasta esos puntos favorables no son tan fuertes. Solo sentí que Bronwyn estaba desarrollada al máximo. Sus pequeñas luchas consigo misma, sus motivaciones, sus secretos. Siento que el menos desarrollado fue Cooper.
Spoiler
La trama es predecible. Soy estúpida y conecté todo mal, pero acerté a cada suceso (atribuyéndolo erronéamente, pero aún así).
Spoiler
IEs una buena lectura, recomendable para meterse en el género de misterio.
Graphic: Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Abandonment, Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Mentions of divorce, body hatred, low self-esteem, non-explicit sexual content.abi_ineedtoreadmore'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
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Toxic relationship, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical trauma, Outing, Violence, Toxic friendship, and Pregnancy
modernathos's review against another edition
3.5
However, the story went a bit too slow for me to rate it any higher than I have. It was very good, but it took me about half the book to really get pulled into the mystery. Still very much a recommendation.
Graphic: Death, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Violence
Minor: Medical content