toephia'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Medical content, Drug abuse, and Misogyny
Moderate: Rape and Sexual assault
Minor: Car accident and Vomit
freckledfemale's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Rape, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Drug abuse
morethanmylupus's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, and Drug abuse
metaphorsandmisc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Eating disorder, and Body shaming
wichbich's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Spoiler
Mom deathThis was an interesting book with an interesting idea. I would say the experience of the narrator is very specific and I don't agree with her a lot of the time. That doesn't make her wrong but her voice is often sort of grandiose as she discusses ideas of universal morals so it does feel a but like being fed a worldview.
Overall this book feels like less of a narrative and more like a reflection on loss, trauma, and image in the midst of an attempt to realign oneself through even more trauma (and some light stalking).
Graphic: Drug abuse, Death of parent, and Drug use
Moderate: Chronic illness, Rape, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Addiction, Medical content, Self harm, Alcoholism, Body horror, Grief, and Sexual assault
Minor: Car accident and Vomit
ohennui's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Drug abuse and Drug use
Moderate: Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Sexual content, Sexism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Medical content, and Rape
lowbrowhighart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Dysphoria, Chronic illness, Toxic friendship, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Body shaming, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Medical trauma, Vomit, Eating disorder, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Drug use, Medical content, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Body horror, Fatphobia, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Sexual content, and Cancer
Minor: Car accident and Infertility
tamtasticbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Moderate: Drug abuse, Sexual assault, Rape, and Death of parent
jennastopreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Cancer, Toxic relationship, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Rape, and Death of parent
Moderate: Sexual content, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, and Grief
tigger89's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Something I appreciated about this title was how realistic the portrayal of social media addiction was, specifically the slide into seeing everything — no matter how personal — as something to be exploited for internet points. I've never gone for instagram, but I've experienced enough dopamine hits on other platforms to recognize the danger there. She was also spot-on when describing diet culture, particularly how it's passed inter-generationally from mother to daughter. The way this was written was chilling enough that it could be a source of horror to some, though it was a little too close to my own experiences growing up for it to land that way for me.
I don't think that I agree with what appears to be the author's message, that women can't be truly empowered when under misogynistic influences — which is all of us, everywhere, all the time. But this argument winds up removing agency from the oppressed even as it claims to protect it, as it merely replaces those harmful influences with a different set of boilerplate rules for "how to be empowered," which might not be a good fit for every individual! I think the concerns raised in this book are good to be aware of, as it certainly is a thing that happens, but there's no clear answer here with regard to what to actually do to fight this effect.
Graphic: Addiction, Death of parent, Drug use, and Alcohol
Moderate: Cancer, Fatphobia, Sexual assault, Chronic illness, Eating disorder, Grief, Rape, Vomit, and Medical content
Minor: Infertility