Scan barcode
ryankey721's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Suicide, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Cultural appropriation, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
careinthelibrary'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
3.5
Reading and getting all these easter egg references to games we know and love was so cool. The references of MGS, Harvest Moon, etc were exciting to come across and hear what Gabrielle Zevin/her characters thought of them. This left me wanting the fictional games to play for myself.
Some of these chapters were so viscerally AMAZING. (spoiler free) - The portions with Sam's mother and their gruesome and tragic discovery on the sidewalk, the thrilling and also tragic scene with Marx at the office, these scenes are so memorable and were written like perfect jewels of narrative.
Some of the toxic friendship and toxic romance stuff wasn't my cuppa but I can see why others would like it.
All in all, there were aspects that I enjoyed more and some less, but I did think this was engrossing, deep, complex, and fun. I recommend especially for gamers!
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Blood, Antisemitism, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Genocide and Cultural appropriation
tanyafrey'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Gun violence
Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death of parent
Minor: Drug use, Genocide, Homophobia, Vomit, and Abortion
lilybear3'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 honestly don't know how to write a review for this and do it justice, I am at a loss of words. It is a story of great friendship, love, and trials. Every character had their complexities and were not always, if at all, likeable
There was never a dull point of this book, I was interested and engaged the entire time. The choice to show their friendship over decades was refreshing and I also really liked that we didn't switch POVs every chapter, I feel like that concept has been played out. The video game nerd in me loved that the author did their research on video game history and what it takes to make video games. While I don't like the miscommunication trope, I didn't find myself frustrated. I understood why they weren't communicating because the characterization was so well done.
I normally don't go into books with expectations, but John Green said it was one of his favorite books of this year, so the need to read it was urgent. John Green didn't let me down. It was truly an honor to read Sadie, Sam, and Marx's journey.
Graphic: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Racism, Sexual content, Abortion, and Cultural appropriation
Minor: Terminal illness and Antisemitism
chichisode's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Chronic illness, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Cancer, Drug use, Eating disorder, Genocide, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, Antisemitism, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, War, and Classism
charitytinnin'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
This book has been celebrated as a book about lifelong friendship between a man and a woman. I see very little evidence of actual friendship here — at best, it’s a story of on/off colleagues; at worst, a story about a toxic friendship.
In depth thoughts:
I enjoyed the first part of this book so much. I mean, it had art and creativity, disability representation, a woman out to be the best in a sexist industry. And the marketing told me it was about a platonic friendship over decades! I was hooked.
Unfortunately, by the end I’d fallen out of love. In addition to the death, I didn’t think the disability rep was handled super well. Still, I wanted to love the platonic messy friendship of it all. I wanted to.
But it felt like Zevin tried to cover too many different hard things/traumas (disability, abuse, assault, abuse of power, gun violence, death, depression, abortion, suicide — and these are just a few I remember off the top of my head; the entire CW list is massive) and those got in the way. I’m not saying real people can’t experience all those traumas, because they do. I just think it’s hard for an author to handle them all well.
Most importantly, at the end, I wasn’t sure I *should* want the friendship to last; it felt too dysfunctional, and I wondered if they’d be better off finding other connections. Which made me feel like I wasted emotional energy on something I shouldn’t have.
Maybe the problem with my experience is the marketing. Maybe Zevin didn’t set out to write a book about a platonic friendship that survives and upholds the MCs throughout decades, which is what I feel like was marketed. If, instead, she set out to write a story about two individuals who survive despite the trauma and dysfunctionally around them, that would’ve been more satisfying to me personally. I’d still say her MCs experience too much trauma for that page count, but I wouldn’t have been rooting for their friendship to pull them through …. (In some ways, it did, but I’m not sure it was in a healthy way.)
I know most everyone else loves this book. I wish I could see what others are seeing. Unfortunately, I couldn’t.
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Medical trauma, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Racism, Self harm, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
Minor: Cancer, Genocide, Abortion, Cultural appropriation, and Classism
Abuse of power in a professor/student relationship.