puffy_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Bullying, Racism, Sexual assault, Fatphobia, and Xenophobia
Minor: Car accident, Drug abuse, Drug use, Addiction, and Alcohol
underage sexual assaultavidreaderandgeekgirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Fatphobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual assault, and Sexism
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Car accident, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, and Misogyny
Minor: Rape
sunsetcity's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racial slurs, Body shaming, Mental illness, Alcohol, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Racism, Sexual assault, Infidelity, Vomit, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Fatphobia, Sexual violence, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
badger5's review
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Eating disorder, Vomit, Alcohol, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Body shaming, Car accident, Drug use, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Fatphobia, Racism, and Sexual assault
rather_b_reading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Rape, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Misogyny, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Cursing, Alcohol, Infidelity, Vomit, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, and Car accident
plumpaperbacks'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
3.0
My feelings on this book are complicated. On one hand, I think it was an (unfortunately) accurate portrayal of how vicious high school can be, of flawed teens making questionable choices when under social and mental duress. On the other hand, though, I found most of the characters extremely frustrating, which hindered my reading experience.
I will say that the final third of the book revealed one very unexpected plot twist that single-handedly saved the book for me. Up until that point, nothing had shocked me except how horrible some of the characters were being. It was all very cleverly done on the authors’ part.
One aspect I have mixed feelings on is Georgie’s character. While she did end up being one of my favorites—alongside Riley and Baez—I question the authors’ choice to make her narrative what it was. Prior to the start of the story, she was a fat girl sent to a summer weight loss camp, which already isn’t my favorite thing. Then the new school year starts, and suddenly, despite being ignored when she was fat, now that she’s lost weight and started dressing differently, she becomes more popular. I realize it was in part a commentary on fatphobia in society, and one of the most significant parts of Georgie’s journey was her realization that she’s beautiful and worthwhile no matter what she weighs or how she looks. But I ask: why was any of it necessary? Why, in 2022, are we still giving this rather offensive cliché any attention? Why couldn’t Georgie realize those things without losing any weight? Alternatively, instead of any sort of self-image character arc, she could’ve been a transfer student, new to the area, and that was why she was attracting attention. I don’t know—maybe I’m over-analyzing this, but I just didn’t really like it regardless.
Also, I would’ve liked to see a bit more about Cora’s queerness. I am completely aware that it’s not meant to be a focal point in this story, and I accept that. However, it’s briefly mentioned a couple of times that she previously, secretly dated a girl, and that’s it. I think it would’ve been interesting to see more of that part of her.
Ultimately, I did like the ending. I liked where each of the characters ended up, and even liked most of the major players by the time I was done, which was a huge improvement from the first half of the book.
As for the book as a whole, I’m not sure. My criticisms of the first half combined with my unexpected investment in and the surprise improvement of the second half equal an overall neutral rating. It wasn’t terrible, but it wasn’t great. I would recommend it if you’re a fan of prep school mysteries and contemporaries with social commentary, but it’s not my first choice recommendation either. So yeah—50/50, basically.
Representation
- Indian protagonist
- Black queer protagonist
- side characters of color (includes Indian, Nigerian, Black and Chinese rep)
- sapphic side characters
Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Bullying, Fatphobia, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Ableism and Alcohol
Minor: Car accident
Ableism—ableist language frequently used by the characters, specifically the word “crazy.” Alcohol—underage drinking semi-frequently. Car accident—severe, occurred prior to the story, mentioned occasionally.nytephoenyx's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Cursing, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
epilieaspiechick'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? Yes
5.0
Thank you to Hyperion for providing the ARC for an honest review.
This book is well over 400 pages, which would usually make me uninterested in reading it. I'm not a big fan of long books. However, this is the exception to the rule with this story about the toxicity of rumors and bullying. It may take it's time to build up the plot and get to the punchline, but it is well worth the wait. The authors do such a phenomenal job writing a story that doesn't pull it's punches and feels quite true to life. It is both heartbreaking and exciting at the same time. Important trigger alert: this story can get dark and discusses bullying, sexual assault, drinking, and drugs.
Graphic: Bullying
Moderate: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
Minor: Drug use, Drug abuse, and Alcohol
janaikam's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
This book had a lot of themes surrounding racism, sexual assault, and fatphobia. It also talked heavily about the rumors especially in high school.
For me, a lot of things felt very forced like they wanted to bring up all these issues in one book instead of focusing on a few issue to where it feels like these issues that are brought up don’t get their full development, which really takes away from the story.
I found it hard to like a lot of the characters because most of them just weren’t like able and it was a very weird disconnect from this story.
All in all the story read like it was written by adults who don’t really know what teens are like, but have a general understanding
Moderate: Alcohol, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Racism, and Sexual assault