The design and UX isn't done, Rob and Abbie, okkurrrr! 😌
dannothedino'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: Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Mental illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Gun violence, Ableism, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Toxic friendship, Drug use, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Lesbophobia, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Child death, Abandonment, Cultural appropriation, Abortion, Infidelity, and Medical trauma
kaimetcalfe's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Mass/school shootings, Toxic relationship, Sexism, Hate crime, Grief, Medical content, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Death, Adult/minor relationship, and Blood
Moderate: Drug use, Cancer, Cultural appropriation, Misogyny, Racism, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, and Child death
skudiklier'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
I don't spoil anything directly, but if you're worried about spoilers, you might want to skip the next three paragraphs. The final three paragraphs don't have any spoilers.
A weird thing about my experience of reading this book was that by the time I was halfway through, it felt like I'd read an entire book--like maybe it should be done already. And I want to be clear I don't mean that in a bad way, like the book felt too long or had poor pacing. It just felt like some books could have ended it there, and been interesting and relatively satisfying overall.
But because I knew I was only halfway through, I started getting worried: yes, this book had complicated relationships, and things that frustrated me, and heartbreaking tragedies. But what if something even worse was going to happen? What if this book was actually devastating, and I just didn't know it yet?
Reader, this book was devastating. My intuition was right, but I had no idea what was going to happen until it was too late. I sobbed through a large section of this book, and was teary-eyed through the whole rest of it, all the way until the end. I already liked this book, and felt it was emotionally deep and moving, but then it just absolutely gutted me.
This book was moving in so many ways. Emotionally, the characters and their relationships are so rich and real and complicated and messy. No one is perfectly likable all the time, and you're not on one character's side the whole way through. But also creatively, this book was so inspiring. I don't play a lot of video games, and know very little about making them, but I do write poetry. At one point I had to stop writing to frantically write down an idea--I'd been waiting for a breakthrough epiphany about something for over a year, and this book finally helped me crack it open, at least a little.
The quotes I pulled from this book to save for later are gorgeous, and the writing is superb. I love the way the book plays with time, and how the future is so casually and distressingly referenced. In a way, it lulled me into thinking I knew what was coming, without ever revealing the worst part.
I tore my way through this book, and basically spent a whole weekend in this world. I'm so grateful to Netgalley and Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group for the chance to read and review this ARC.
Graphic: Suicide, Gun violence, Death, Car accident, Chronic illness, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Homophobia, Grief, Cursing, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Racism, and Medical content
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Ableism, Sexual content, Vomit, Mental illness, Infidelity, Sexual violence, and Drug use
Minor: Abortion, Animal death, Eating disorder, and Child death