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kappafrog's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Unusually for a book, the final section was definitely the best. So often authors lose steam at that point, but here I thought that Washington got me to care way more than I had about Benson and his father, while still keeping up the emotional momentum on Mike. Before the final section, I had spent most of my time reading resigned to finishing but with no enthusiasm for the book or its characters. The end brought together a lot of the threads of the book. Even though the ending is
I have some other issues with the book though. A lot of the characters don't feel like real people in the way they talked - particularly the women, Ximena, Lydia and Mitsuko. They dispensed cryptic wisdom or made pithy remarks but never felt like real people. What I've seen described as the book's "staccato" pace meant that there were way too many emotional punchlines. So many passages tried to be profound in an understated way that I just got bored.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racism, Vomit, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Drug use, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury
seventhswan's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
I liked the characters of Benson and Mike separately - I probably enjoyed reading Mike's POV slightly more than Benson's, he had a little more about him - but I was not rooting for their relationship at all. Somewhere towards the end of the book, I remembered that they'd been together five years, not five months, and was ready to scream. However, I thought they were both interesting, well-written characters, and I cared about what happened to them (certainly more than anyone in the story seemed to).
The writing was often really beautiful and thought-provoking, and I didn't mind the lack of quotation marks, but I really struggled with 'new speaker, new line' not being followed. I had to reread several paragraphs because I'd misunderstood who was speaking, which was frustrating.
I would say that this book was good, not that I enjoyed it. It was not a cheerful or uplifting read, despite the characters insisting they felt hopeful at the end. Other than the speech, it was well-executed, and I'd read more by Washington in the future.
Graphic: Child abuse, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Racism, and Sexual content
hello_lovely13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Cancer, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Abandonment
Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, and Racial slurs
HIVstellahadz'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
Moderate: Cancer, Infidelity, Sexual content, Grief, and Death of parent
Minor: Alcoholism and Homophobia
emilysamsharrisreads'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Moderate: Homophobia and Racism
20sidedbi'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and Classism
philippmk's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, and Alcohol
alexisgarcia'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
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
spookyaz'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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Grief, and Death of parent
himangi'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: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Cancer, Cursing, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Alcohol, and Dysphoria