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emherrick'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
4.25
Graphic: Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Colonisation
atsundarsingh'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
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Death, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Classism
zara89'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
2.5
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
beate251'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
I have first encountered this story as an eight part Disney+ series. Now that I finally got round to reading the book it's based on I can see why some people have problems with the narrative. It feels a lot more disjointed than the series, with a constant back and forth and introduction of seemingly random characters who turn out to be someone we didn't expect. You'll just have to accept that there's a big cast, and we're following them all.
The book deals with a lot of difficult topics (my content warnings are probably longer than my review!) and it sometimes feels like it's too many, even though some, like the rape, are barely mentioned. The TV show fleshes the time in Edinburgh out a lot more.
The writing is beautiful but I would really recommend the Disney+ series - it makes the book a lot easier to read.
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Rape, Terminal illness, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
kyriannaj's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Bullying, Hate crime, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Cancer
reddeddy'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? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Biphobia, Racism, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Cancer, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Slavery, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Deportation
erinoconnor'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? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Biphobia, Cancer, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Lesbophobia, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Injury/Injury detail
reading_rebellion's review against another edition
Ugh I really wanted to like and finish this but the story was all over the place. I didn't know who's was who, or what's going on. Are we in present or in the past.
The story just moved too slow for me. I read 40% before dnf'g. I struggled to get through the part I did read. It was boring and confusing. I'm not one to "push through" and waste my time on a book I choose to voluntarily read if I don't like it. I typically only give books about 25% before moving on so I was very generous with this one.
I think the story was probably heading in a good direction, but just took too long to get there. I also didn't care for the writing style. It was too many characters that didn't add to the story and not enough important information to move the story forward. I listened to this on Audible and didn't care for the narrator either. Overall an interesting storyline but poor execution in my opinion. I would give it a 3.25 stars.
Graphic: Grief, Abandonment, Colonisation, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Violence, Xenophobia, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
valleysoshady'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
5.0
It made me love my family more, consider my priviledge, reflect on my parents as immigrants alone in a new country, my heritage.
I loved all of the characters, their flaws, their strength, their damage and their triumphs. I loved the vein of politics and social justice, ever present and gracefully intertwined with the plot.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Colonisation
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Medical content, Medical trauma, Car accident, Abandonment, and Alcohol
livcashmere's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Addiction, Biphobia, Death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation