Reviews with content warning for Adult/minor relationship - Parachutes

When I picked this up for book club, I was not expecting it to be the most poignant book on debate culture that I have ever read- and that’s not even really the primary theme of the book. This book navigates many topics that I’m not an own voices reviewer for and don’t want to speak to the validity of (the international student experience especially). But I think this is an extremely realistic depiction of high school life and drama. I usually hate split perspectives but it worked so well here. I felt at times the narrative voices could have been a little more distinct and the characters more developed, and their tone sometimes felt a little younger than they were. But overall this is a really well written book and I couldn’t put it down.

I didn’t expect to relate to this book in the way that I did. I felt sick to my stomach about 10% into the book when we first start getting to know Mr. Connelly because I had an inkling of where this was headed. It’s a story I’ve heard before. It’s a story that quite easily could have been my own.

But debate culture is toxic for anyone that isn’t a white male. And it was at times for me. This book gets it 100% to a T. The absolute gaslighting. The lack of boundaries. The fear of confronting uncomfortable moments because you don’t want to make waves. The power imbalance that exists in most rooms you enter, and the discomfort along with it.

I don’t know where I’m going with this except to say that this book resonated with me in ways I never expected it to. It will stick with me for a long time.

Content Warnings

citrusgrove's review against another edition

Go to review page

challenging dark emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

Content Warnings

furygirrl10's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring tense medium-paced

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

5.0

Very moving story. Content warning. Two girls deal with predatory behavior, from different sources and for different reasons, and lean into their strength to deal with the fallout. Author's note at the end needs to be read.

Content Warnings

yuna's review against another edition

Go to review page

emotional hopeful sad fast-paced

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

This book covers a lot of ground. Lots of emotion going on, and a great book for flawed characters you still root for because there's still so much goodness in people despite their flaws.

I hate love triangles and the amount of boy-driven conflict and fighting hurt to read. The way the girls mostly supported each other was nice though, and I enjoyed Dani and Ming's friendship a lot.

Privilege is a part of this book, and in the end I'm not convinced that Claire really did any introspection of herself. Also a bit bothered that while the filipina "helper" issue was brought up at the beginning, it gets dropped quickly thereafter without much critique.
And it's disappointing to see casual ableism in word choice. I know it's ingrained in us, but it's also easier to catch in text than speech.

Content Warnings