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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
The 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, Hate crime, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Minor: Transphobia
nadia4973's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Sexual assault
Minor: Pedophilia
savleigh3'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
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Incest, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Kidnapping
zoemain's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
0.5
So putting aside the fact that Sky and Dean basically hook up while washing
SKY’S DAD’S
blood off of their bodies, because I don’t want to spoil any of the trashy plotline, there’s still a lot to address here.
For starters, the constant slut shaming throughout this novel is so weird! Sky adamantly declares every couple of pages that she is not a slut, lest the reader judge her harshly. The first thing Colleen wants you to know about Sky is that she is not a slut. In the span of first ten pages you’ll find these two quotes:
- “Despite what this may look like, I am not a slut. Unless, of course, the definition of slut is based on the fact that I make out with lots of people, regardless of my lack of attraction to them. In that case, one might have grounds for debate.”
- “This brings me back to the fact that, contrary to popular belief, I am not a slut. I’ve never had sex with any of the boys I’ve made out with, including the currently pouting Grayson.”
- “Shayna/Shayla is everything I wish I were. Tall, voluptuous, and sun-kissed blonde…. maybe I don’t want to be that blonde.”
- “I just swiped my card and I’m almost positive she should be doing something on her end, but she’s too busy planning her wedding with this guy to remember she has a customer.”
- “Peppy, fake girls annoy the hell out of me.”
Also, Dean, the love interest, is a disaster. He’s, for one, a creep. Sky herself agrees. She states as much at the beginning of the book as Dean follows her to her car in the grocery store parking lot:
“There was something so disturbing about the way he looked at me. It was uncomfortable”.
Dean is also alarmingly possessive and violent:
- [After Dean refuses to leave Sky’s room, despite numerous requests for him to leave] “I don’t know if I should scream for help or rip off my clothes.”
- [After noticing Sky is wearing a new bracelet] “‘Where’d you get it?’ he says again, this time a little more demanding. His grip tightens around my wrist and he’s staring at me coldly, expecting an explanation. I pull my wrist away, not liking where this is going.”
- Dean: “‘I ever see him trying to touch you like he does and he’ll be reintroduced to my fist.'”
But apparently Sky is okay with Dean’s aggression, because she partakes in it too:
- “Before [Dean] can leap across the table and beat the shit out of the guy, I do something that shocks even myself. I slap [Dean] as hard as I can across the face. He immediately pulls his hand to his cheek and looks at me, completely taken aback.”
Can I quickly mention that Sky and Dean had no real chemistry? They were so obviously just bonding over trauma.
I could keep quoting things what will make you gape down at your phone like “what the eff?” Or I could elaborate on the harmful stereotypes in this book, or I could attempt to summarise the wacky plot line, but I think you get the idea. Just don’t read this book!
But if you’re going to ignore my negative review, because after all, a lot of people seemed to like this book, at least don’t ignore my content warnings.
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
lida_magg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicide, and Death of parent
genivieve's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Incest, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, and Kidnapping
azelias's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Moderate: Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, and Sexual harassment
erinshae123's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Suicide
Moderate: Physical abuse
al3x4ndra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
Moderate: Physical abuse and Rape
angieinsp26's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I can’t this give this book higher than a 3.5 because of the contents within the last 200 pages. I loved the first half of this book, it might have been slow and uneventful but I liked that. The last 200 pages definitely have some topics that can be triggering for some readers such as rape, physical abuse (mentioned very briefly), kidnapping, incest and suicide.I didn’t really like that Holder and Sky used sex as a way to cope with everything that was going on as well. I loved the way that they loved each other but for me it was really hard to read those triggering scenes. I went into this book completely blind and I think it is my own fault that I reacted to this book the way that I did. If anyone is thinking about reading this book please look at the possible triggers that this book contains. This is my second Colleen Hoover book and I have enjoyed her writing so far, her books are so easy to read and are really fast paced but this book was just not for me 🤷♀️
Moderate: Incest, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Kidnapping