augustar14's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- 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
A beautifully written story about life, but particularly what comes after. How we cope with the impact our lives had on others, and how grief impacts each person differently. About letting go, holding on, and the steps in between. You won't love Wallace at first, but by the end I think you might feel differently. I certainly did. And it's probably worth keeping a tissue box nearby.
Graphic: Grief, Violence, and Death
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Murder, Cursing, Mental illness, Abandonment, Suicide, Child death, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Sexual content, and War
booksbutmakeitgay's review
4.0
Moderate: Death, Death of parent, Suicide, Grief, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm
agnes_fr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Murder, Grief, Gun violence, Suicidal thoughts, Death of parent, and Panic attacks/disorders
cluckieduck's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0
I love me some TJ - while this is my least favourite behind the Green Creek series and The House in the Cerulean Sea, it was still an enjoyable read, and touched on the finer elements of death & grief that I found missing from The Midnight Library.
Our narrator, Wallace, has died. He is brought to a tea shop where he meets Hugo, the ferryman tasked with assisting Wallace's transition from living to dead, ultimately to assist him with crossing over to the otherside. With the help of Hugo & a supporting cast of characters in the tea shop (including the most wonderful dog), Wallace comes to realize that he may not have been the very best person while living. While death is eternal, his time at the tea shop is finite and he must decide how he can rectify who he was in life to who he is in death.
Bravery meant the possibility of death. And wasn't that funny? Because it took being dead for Wallace to finally be brave.
I think I would have given 5* had the ending gone the other direction - I was waiting for the full-blown emotional gut-punch that TJ is wont to provide. All in all, it's a lovely found-family story.
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, and Child death
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail and Gun violence
cakrolik's review
- 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, Death, Death of parent, and Suicide
Moderate: Animal death, Cancer, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Murder, Self harm, and Violence