auggie_reads's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Gun violence, Death, Death of parent, Child abuse, Medical content, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content
navayiota's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Violence, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Sexual content, Car accident, Cursing, and Homophobia
amyhasel'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? No
4.5
Moderate: Religious bigotry, Medical content, Death, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Violence, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Gun violence, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
9/11 contentchrisoverbye's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Cursing, and Domestic abuse
4riareads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Violence, Death, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Mass/school shootings, Domestic abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Medical trauma, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Physical abuse
bookishmillennial's review
- 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
As everyone knows, this is the prequel to TBDATE & it covers the first day that Death Cast launches, which is so intriguing because it rang true to how I thought our current society would treat the service too. There would absolutely be naysayers & doomsdayers galore! I felt Adam did an excellent job in illustrating the many emotions and wonders of the characters when it came to Death Cast's new service and what it meant for their lives.
Was I as wrecked as TBDATE? No, but that's because I fully knew what was coming. My dumbass really thought the title was clever and that the author was trying to trick readers and not actually a spoiler of how that book would end hahaha. However, I did get attached to and root for Orion and Valentino, two boys who deserved to be happy and healthy.
I listened to the audiobook, and thoroughly enjoyed the narration. These books call into question how we shouldn't take our days for granted, and I love those reminders.
ALSO !!! Rufus + Mateo cameos?! Like are you kidding?! BE STILL MY HEART <3
"While Death-Cast can only tell someone when they will die, they can't predict how someone's life will change on their End Day. The Decker must make those discoveries themselves by living with the fullest of hearts, down to the last beat."
"I don't want to mistake another day as ordinary again."
"I understand that the person who gets the Death-Cast call isn’t the only one dying. If you really hold someone in your heart, you die too."
"Life shouldn't be about to end before someone begins living."
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Homophobia, Gun violence, Abandonment, and Child abuse
Moderate: Grief, Cursing, and Medical content
Minor: Car accident and Sexual content
dirtyseagull's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Not really a spoiler, its in the title.
But here are some very minor spoilers if you wanna keep reading. You are getting a lot of the same here as you did in the first novel, just longer. There's backstory, more world-building, and a shit ton of callbacks to the first novel (and little easter eggs) which give context for who these characters were that were either mentioned or featured in the first story.
These mostly work in service of the novel but sometimes feel like they are just kinda cameos for the sake of cameos and they could have been cut down or cut out. The only other thing that really makes me think that this could have been better is that the story itself, while different and heart wrenching feels far less emotionally powerful to me.
Graphic: Murder, Drug use, Suicide, Death, Death of parent, Child death, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Child death, Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Medical content, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
rebeccabryson21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
This was heartbreaking good, I can’t even out into words how much I loved this.
Ten out of ten
Graphic: Violence, Medical trauma, Death, Death of parent, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Murder, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Medical content, and Blood
bookswithlauren's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
The story goes through many twists and turns but also remains clever and surprising despite the title of the book stating what is going to happen. There are many things I really enjoyed in this book like getting more information about Death Cast and how the company launched, the multiple character perspectives which give us a more in depth story, the easter eggs linking both books together and the friendships and relationship that grew throughout. I loved spending time with ValentinOrion, watching their friendship and relationship grow, their happiness and confidence shine through, it was beautiful.
I do think there were too perspectives at times that didn't always contribute to the story which made it a little confusing but it didn't impact my overall enjoyment of the story. I also wish we got more background knowledge on Death Cast, how it was created, why it was created and the mechanics of it. Even though the book was long, I felt the ending was rushed and could have been paced a bit better.
Because this book was longer and more detailed, I found myself thinking about how I would feel in Valentino or Orion's situation. What if Death Cast existed in my world? Would I sign up? Could I cope with that knowledge? It is definitely a book that gets you thinking but with the main message of live your life to the fullest, do everything you want to do and to love whole heartedly, even when people around us are dying or have died, even when we might die ourselves.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Mass/school shootings, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Hate crime, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Grief, and Murder
emburke's review
- 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? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Death of parent, Physical abuse, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Grief, Emotional abuse, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Homophobia