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amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Lesbophobia, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Grief, Emotional abuse, Murder, Outing, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, and Classism
kstacy91'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Vomit and Bullying
Moderate: Death
bookishsapphicshay's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Lesbophobia and Bullying
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Toxic friendship, Classism, and Vomit
Minor: Body horror
clovelatte's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Moderate: Alcohol, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Murder, Outing, and Racism
Minor: Stalking
cosmicsapphic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Gun violence, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Murder, Death, Child death, and Bullying
Moderate: Vomit and Alcohol
Minor: Homophobia
therainbowshelf'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
3.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Murder
Moderate: Stalking and Vomit
Minor: Drug use
bencaroline's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Death and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Homophobia, Drug use, Violence, Stalking, Sexism, Infidelity, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Sexual content and Mental illness
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I was engrossed from beginning to end. The characterization is strong and there's just enough setting established to make it feel like I really knew a couple of spaces that were important to the plot without having to worry about how everything connected (there's more geographic detail I couldn't hold in my head, like some connecting streets, but the superfluous stuff wasn't overwhelming). It's a story that runs on interpersonal tensions and difficult-to-voice feelings between older teenagers, so you'll either love it or would just be better off skipping it. There's a difficult line to walk with the MC as an unreliable narrator, she's generally honest about what she thinks, but there's a level of denial running through the feelings she is able to voice which means that the audience knows why she says what she says, but some of the tension with the other characters is created by her inability to express herself. It creates a space where I was inclined to side with the MC, but we get enough information about the non-POV characters to completely understand where they're coming from and why they're reacting to her in any particular way. I'm normally very stressed out by stories where someone is lying to someone who is important to them about a major thing, but this didn't prompt that in me (or at least not in a bad way). Being able to get where everyone was coming from (and getting glimpses of the various levels of self-denial about certain things) helped mitigate that tension for me while still keeping the story very engaging.
I loved this one and the ending makes me want to re-read it so I can go through the whole story again now that I know how it wraps up. As soon as I finished I was flipping back through it to see different pieces recontexualized. I definitely recommend for anyone who wants a quick thriller which is driven by interpersonal tension. It's not full-on horror (and it's not trying to be), so it's great for people who want something tense but not extremely scary.
Moderate: Bullying, Child death, Death, Homophobia, and Violence
Minor: Gun violence and Racism
CW for violence, alcohol, racism, homophobia, bullying, child death, major character death.