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leafilys'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: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, and Self harm
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Blood, Vomit, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail
wormmmmmmmmm's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Terminal illness
Moderate: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Homophobia
saskiahill's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
ah_nailse's review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Death of parent
drbunny's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I do feel the metaphors dragged on too long. As lovely as they were, it took away from some of the emotional moments. I also found that some of the dialogue was repeated so often that the sayings lost their impact. (Ex: "You're okay. I've got you," was said whenever someone had a an emotional moment)
I also would have appreciated a break in between character deaths. 3 in a row was quite a lot.
That all being said, i did enjoy the novel and hope to see the growth I believe Lancali is capable of!
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Cancer
pagesofplatypus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
I Fell in Love with Hope is a beautiful, unique, and masterful exploration of death, grief, despair, loneliness, illness, and hope.
The story alternates between the now and before of our narrator, Sam. The now introduces us to chronically positive and passionate Sony, ill-tempered but deeply caring Neo, and endlessly kind and protective Coeur. Each tries in their own way to steal back everything time, disease, and death has and will take from them. The group eagerly welcomes in Hikari, a golden-haired, golden-eyed girl who battles her own demons.
"We spent our whole lives together pretending, but if you pretend for too long, reality reminds you one way or another that it doesn't like being insulted."
The writing is incredibly poetic and infused with such strong emotion as we come to love each character as deeply as Sam. Even as you know deep down these kids will not escape death's clutches, you do still cling to a hope. A hope that they will steal as much time and hope and love as they can.
I also love how much agency each character has. They break rules. They create. They don't let others tell how they're supposed be. They do steal from time, from the diseases, and even from death itself. They face limitations from their illnesses but they don't let it limit their hope or their love.
"You know you never wanted us to be happy, Sam. Happiness is a brittle,
fleeting thing.
You wanted us to feel loved, and we did."
I Fell in Love with Hope does such a good job showing what it means to love and be loved. That you don't have to find a cure. That to despair is not to be broken. That love can't stop death but it is vital.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Cancer, Child death, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Medical content, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Abortion, and Pregnancy
mkr_08's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Terminal illness, Grief, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Suicide, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Minor: Vomit and Alcohol
ash_cash0's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
xoxocm'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
4.25
(I know it's long just bear with me please)
Okay, I sat. Let's start with the positives, I do think this book is worth the read, IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A SIGN TO READ THIS BOOK, THIS IS IT. This is a beautifully written book. I got extremely attached to the characters and audibly cried at least seven times. It's sad and real and really forces you take a step back and look at things with a different perspective.
The only reason this book is a 4.25 stars instead of 5 is because (1) felt the author's writing was extremely poetic, metaphorical, and flowery, almost to a point of fault. It felt like every line was a quote that you should be annotating. I think you should know that after listening to lancali talk, I have come to realize that that is just her natural way of speaking. Also, the big reveal at the end wasn't my favorite but the 200 pages leading up to it were heart-wrenching.
(2) From the beginning, the main character and her love interest werent my favorite characters in the world. Not to say I didn't like them, I truly did but Neo, Coeur, and Sony really tugged at my heartstrings. I felt like I was being told about their immense love for each other but I didn't feel it. There was never a moment in the book where I was giddy and kicking my feet for them to get together. It was more of "this person is the bane of my existence" the very first time they met.
This review is not meant to scare you away from reading it, it is a great book, these are just slight things that pop up in the book that pushed my rating down from a 5 star. To not end this on a negative note I loved this book. The positives outway the negatives by far and the problems I mention in this review are not as big of a deal as I'm making them out to be. So have fun and grab some tissues.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, and Grief
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape
Minor: Homophobia
asophiaa502'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
4.75
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Suicide, and Suicide attempt