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partly_stars's review against another edition
3.25
Could have work better for me if I was more of a teenager liking dramatic media bout teenagers. I think in that genre it's a pretty decent mix of drama and murder thriller with some solid romance scenes and clichés that can be fun (fucking Nate being a famaged bad boy that is sad inside. Someone get this kid therapy)
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Homophobia and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Drug abuse
mahi_nad's review against another edition
- 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
2.75
REVIEW:
This was a marvelous, delectable read. There was something incredibly addicting about this book; to the point where I read it in one day (granted, I didn't have anything else to do). But that being said, there are a couple of issues that I had with it. Namely the harmful depiction of sexuality and depression.
The rest of this is going to be labeled as "spoilers", since these are major reveals and are crucial to the plot. I personally don't think of these as spoilers, but this is how the book depicts them so this is how I'm writing this review.
All the characters in this book have secrets that eventually come to light, and the first red flag that arose was Cooper's sexuality. It was written as though the author expected us to be scandalized and join right alongside the other students in the book jeering and treating it as a HUGE scandal. The icing on the cake? The twisted reasoning for this is that we were led to believe he had been flirting and going out with girls.
As I'm saying this, I feel it necessary to point out that I'm not gay. I have no experience with this whatsoever, and so you should take my words with a grain of salt. But, the way the author revealed Cooper's sexuality was absolutely mind-blowing. And not in a good way. Cooper's reasoning for wanting to stay closeted is completely valid and realistic, and might even connect with some readers. It's not as though I think that his storyline and character is useless to the story, I just think that the "shocking revelation" of sexuality should be used as a plot twist.
What makes this even worse is that Cooper was FORECFULLY outed. This could DEFINITELY cause anxiety and fear within those who are closeted or have been through the same experiences.
If you feel differently and think this is fine, that's ok. I just wanted to warn people who this MAY harm.
I'm not saying that horrible mental health can't lead someone to do these things. But it being the driving motive? It reinforces harmful stereotypes about depression and other mental health issues, implying that they can lead to violent or malicious behavior. And that can lead to REAL LIFE PEOPLE never finding help, burying it inside just because they have the stereotypical thinking running through their head that "Oh! Depression is bad? It's looked down upon? I'll just hide it away and never deal with it cause boy, I sure don't want to end up like Simon".
Also. Stop treating suicide as if it's a mystery that needs to be solved. Don't use it as a basis for your book. It just adds to the harmful and WRONG reputation of mental illness that we have today.
So yeah, there's that.
Also, did anyone else think that they REALLY leaned heavily into the "drug-dealing bad boy" stereotype?
BOTTOM LINE:
Horrible portrayals of depression and sexuality, would not recommend unless not affected
AGE RATING:
15+
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, and Suicide
Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Cancer, Drug use, and Mass/school shootings
ajg022'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
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Outing, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Moderate: Bullying, Cancer, and Car accident
Minor: Drug use, Gun violence, Mental illness, Police brutality, Mass/school shootings, and Gaslighting
mythxcally's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
However I wouldn't fully give it 5 stars as some parts seemed a little... random. Like Nate showing up to Bronwyn's house the first time, he just appeared from his POV, no lead up or anything! The multiple POVs per chapter was also confusing, but I managed to get into that relatively easy.
The characters were definetely loveable and I really felt for them in tough situations such as
The ending I did not expect at all. Usually with these types of books I have indications of who I believe to be guilty, and sometimes they're right, sometimes they aren't. But this time I had no clue!
I wish there was a second book on the same characters!
Graphic: Violence and Blood
Moderate: Homophobia
oceanbluetay's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Self harm, Grief, Outing, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Racism, Sexism, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
kjohnston1795'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia and Suicide
alalalal'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Bullying, Homophobia, Self harm, Violence, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, and Death of parent
lilia's review against another edition
4.25
Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Suicide, and Outing
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol
Minor: Mass/school shootings and Car accident
icedlemonade's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Gun violence and Mass/school shootings
alice_in_bookland9's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Mental illness, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Cursing, Homophobia, and Self harm