fink1129's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Death of parent, Grief, Incest, Rape, Suicide, Alcoholism, Kidnapping, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Pedophilia
blynn343's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Incest, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, and Rape
issibelle's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Death of parent, Death, Kidnapping, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexual content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Rape, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Violence
xlaraxk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
The writing: The writing in this book was so bland. Nothing about it was clever or original or showed linguistic talent. Any AO3 or Wattpad writer could do better than this. CoHo really tries to hammer the youthfulness of the characters home by constantly using the phrase "xy sucks ass", "this sucks ass", "he sucks ass" etc. To introduce direct speech she constantly uses "he/she says" so it gets repetitive easily. The comparisons she makes are also strange and could even be considered offensive (e.g." He looked at me like I just said I have a penis"). All in all, the writing was not the worst thing I ever read but just straight up boring - something you will have read a hundred times by now.
The characters: Again, just bland. I could not tell you anything about the main character Sky or Holder in regards to their personality. They all have one character trait only - Holder is "misunderstood", Sky likes to read and that's about it. I do not even understand why they liked each other in the first place
Spoiler
apart from knowing each other from childhoodThe problematic aspects: Oh, there are so many.
- This book depicts queer, especially gay people, so stereotypically. Colleen Hoover wants to tell us how much of an ally both Holder and Sky are yet to fail to see Sky's friend as anything more than his personality. We've all seen some rendition of "the extroverted quirky gay best friend" in a book or a film - again, nothing original about it. I'm really sick of seeing this stereotype being brought up over and over again.
- Sky has so much internalised misogyny. Her only issue seems to constantly tell the read that she, in fact, is not a slut. The "slut" topic plays a big part in the beginning of the book and then weirdly is never brought up again later. But in any case, she tries to "not be like other girls" by calling other girls either a slut, stupid or manipulative.
- Holder does not know about consent. There are some scenes where Sky is clearly uncomfortable with their physical intimacy (at one point she even tells him no "forcefully") but he keeps on pressuring her. He's emotionally manipulative and that's not romantic or cute in any way.
- Just the plot in general. There is some serious trauma going on but it is "fixed" by a romantic relationship. That's just not what you should convey to a young audience. If you really want to read this book, please make sure to take a look at the trigger warnings.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Suicide, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Hate crime, Kidnapping, and Sexual violence
Minor: Transphobia
josefinemartensson'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Rape, Kidnapping, Mental illness, and Suicide
emval2004's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, and Suicide
tairameadowcroft'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
3.75
Graphic: Sexual assault and Suicide
Moderate: Alcohol and Alcoholism
Minor: Mental illness and Death of parent
jessy_03'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? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Incest, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Suicide
julialovesreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, and Vomit
travelthrupages'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
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Violence, and Child abuse
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Suicide, Sexual content, and Sexual assault
Minor: Car accident, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Kidnapping, Grief, and Death of parent