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iane_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, and Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Biphobia, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Transphobia, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
alrsto's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
There were things I really liked about this book and problematic things that kept me from loving it.
Likes: I have only a passing knowledge of Shakespeare, but I know enough to see how this story echoes Shakespeare's tragedies, complete with characters making choices and then wrestling at length with the consequences—especially the internal (psychological) consequences.
The second time I read the book, I noticed some subtle, Shakespeare-esque foreshadowing that I couldn't see, and thus didn't appreciate, during my first read, when I was just wondering what's going to happen next.
I also have a big soft spot for a ensemble cast, especially where the characters have a history and the various interpersonal relationships between them inform how they get along with each other, as well as the narrative.
I liked the (to me) subtle depiction of an unacknowledged love between two characters that I gradually realized was an undercurrent propelling many of the characters' decisions—sometimes in ways they realized, sometime in ways they didn't seem to.
I felt the same pleasant frustration I do when reading romances: "For heaven's sake, would the two of you finally hold each other, kiss, and admit that you're in deeply love with each other already?!"
Finally, I appreciated that there was an interesting moral question left open for pondering at the end.
Problems: I could have used a little more history about the groups' years at the school before their fourth year, in which the story takes place.
Knowing more about how they became the clique that they are and how the various sub-relationships within the clique have evolved and changed over the years would have made their decisions and actions more understandable.
I also thought the murder victim was one-dimensional and too thinly drawn.
Was that physical bullying, in fact, not really a surprise to them? If so, why? Had his bullying been more subtle in the past, perhaps taking the form of emotional and/or verbal abuse? Had it started out with "teasing" that could have at first been written off as "just a joke" or the recipient being "sensitive" if they felt hurt?
Or did he always have an obnoxious, outsize ego or a wildly moody temperament that the rest of the group was so used to putting up with that they didn't realize it was gradually morphing into something sadistic and sinister?
Without a richer group history and a more robust picture of the victim, I was puzzled about why the other six members of the group chose the actions (and inactions) they did in response to him.
I found the scenes where the characters act out Shakespeare scenes—specifically the Macbeth and Romeo and Juliet sequences—long and tedious. I don't think they added enough to the story or advanced the plot enough to justify their length.
I also wonder how plausible it is that college actors would be thrown into acting out parts of plays without rehearsal or even knowing who was playing what parts beyond their own.
I could have used less of the characters speaking in Shakespeare lines to each other in their everyday conversations.
(Unless the point of it was for us, the reader/observers, to feel as annoyed with it in the way the characters' fellow students likely would have been annoyed with it, thinking the Shakepeareans were cliquey and full of themselves. In which case, mission accomplished!)
For one thing, Alexander, another member of their clique, is dallying with another man, and no one seems surprised or judgmental about it.
For another, sure, it was the late 1990s and pre–social media. LGBTQA+ issues weren't as widely discussed by as many people as they are now.
But Dellecher was an arts school where theater was a big deal. Even Shakespeare nerds would have been aware of the greater US theater scene, including Rent taking Broadway by storm in 1996.
Would being queer, gay, bi, and/or pansexual—or even just sexual experimentation—really have been that shocking, verboten, or problematic in this context?
Did James, Oliver, or both just not want to be labelled as gay, perhaps because they thought it would limit their acting career prospects? Did they know (or suspect) Richard was a homophobe whose reaction would be unbearable if they were a couple?
Or was this a more garden-variety case of two members of a close-knit group being attracted to each other but not wanting to admit it, the same way many main characters in romance novels don't—because true love can be scary and/or cause a big disruption in the group if revealed?
Whatever the case, I think if we'd known more of the group's history, more about Richard, and more about the context, James and Oliver's inability to admit feelings for each other might have made a little more sense.
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Alcohol
kristinamv's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
111222333's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Murder, and Alcohol
Moderate: Biphobia and Eating disorder
kgreer'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
5.0
I read this from a borrowed copy from my library and just bought it for my personal collection because of how much I loved it.
The most tragic thing about this book is that I can’t read it again for a first time and experience the thrill anew. I will be thinking about this book for a long time.
Graphic: Toxic relationship and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Sexual content and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism and Biphobia
nhelregel'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Biphobia, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexual content, Suicide, and Blood
vbaltazar07's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Addiction, Biphobia, Eating disorder, Blood, and Suicide attempt
tallhousecookies's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Biphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
aquariusvintage'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
cheye13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was enjoying everything as it was and then the final "twist" (kinda?) absolutely wrecked me. I'm not sure how I feel about the ending specifically, but the story as an overall piece of art is wonderful.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Biphobia, Eating disorder, Sexual content, Blood, and Vomit
a couple instances of drowning, near-drowning, attempted drowning.