The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
sophieamreacher's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Alcohol, Trafficking, Violence, Alcoholism, Cancer, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Dementia, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Confinement, Gore, Islamophobia, Misogyny, Toxic relationship, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Infertility, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, Stalking, Classism, Deportation, Hate crime, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Self harm, Xenophobia, Blood, Drug abuse, Grief, War, Body horror, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, and Vomit
madanxiety's review against another edition
5.0
Aside from pace, I am also always a huge fan of ensembles, which is part of what initially sustained my attention. I was like damn, how many hostages are there? Lol.Â
More to the content of the novel, I liked how each character was flawed in a very human way, and yet the protagonist (who, despite all the other characters, I'd say is Libby) was still always someone you could route for. This was a skillful balance to maintain.Â
I also have a soft spot for anti-establishment narratives lol. As one of the characters states at some point, the real villains turn out to be people, not AI.Â
My only critique of the book is how characters of color are treated. I will say more under the cut, but ofc it will include major spoilers.Â
I might've written this off as simply revealing Alex's own biases and flaws, but POC in this book are pretty much all murdered or painted as villains. It seems like the narrative of the book leans sympathetic toward POC, with only unlikeable characters being outright racist, the POC still die unjust deaths. It's like, I get that the novel is meant to be representative of the ugly parts of reality, including the disproportionate victimization of POC, but idk if that's enough justification for using characters of color as mere plot devices or backstory, not when that's the plight of ALL of them.
Anyway, I think the book is an interesting exploration of how AI could be weaponized by both powerful people and vigilantes. It's a cautionary tale about being too trusting of technology with regard to the collection and sharing of private data.Â
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Pedophilia, Car accident, Grief, Murder, Stalking, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, and Infidelity
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer and Infertility
katiehelen1995's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Infertility, Pedophilia, Pregnancy, Death, Death of parent, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Car accident, Child death, and Mental illness
loysydneyweissman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Gore, Gaslighting, Fire/Fire injury, Miscarriage, Infidelity, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Police brutality, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Islamophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Infertility, Genocide, Death, Classism, Medical content, Kidnapping, Cancer, Blood, Alcoholism, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Trafficking, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Car accident, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Racism
taleofabibliophile's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Kidnapping, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Pregnancy, Car accident, Murder, Violence, Confinement, Infidelity, Sexism, Misogyny, Blood, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Mental illness, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Hate crime, Xenophobia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Sexual assault, Infertility, Cancer, Medical content, Alcohol, Gore, Miscarriage, Domestic abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: War, Homophobia, Ableism, Slavery, Dementia, Trafficking, Vomit, and Gun violence
hufflesnoot's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Racism, Death, Suicide, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, and Infertility
hillarydanielle's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Car accident, Confinement, Death, Infertility, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Blood, Death of parent, Hate crime, Miscarriage, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, and Racial slurs
kendrabetweenthelines's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Suicide, Violence, Racism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Infertility
Minor: Alcoholism