duaabbasrizvi's review against another edition
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Excellent writing, and a highly effective use of the first person plural pov.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
bloupibloupreads's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Suicide
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Eating disorder
hannahwillacy's review against another edition
dark
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide
abird03's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Pedophilia, Alcohol, and Cultural appropriation
vicblue's review against another edition
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
- 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
2.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
sleepyriv's review against another edition
dark
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide attempt, Grief, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Confinement, and Drug use
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
everie's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- 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? It's complicated
2.75
An interesting zoom-out on a basic suburban neighborhood in the 70s, centering around the narrators' ogling obsessions with the suicides of five sisters over the course of about a year. Fuddles along for about 50-100 pages more than it needs to. You can tell it's a first novel, and ofc you can DEFINITELY tell it was written by a man named Jeffrey lol
I hesitated to read it for a long time, mostly because of the title and meh experiences with one of the author's other books, but I now wish I'd read it in college or a book club so I could hash out my thoughts about it with some people and compare takes. So definitely an interesting book!
The greek chorus of boys viewing the girls through their own romantic (and limited) notions add a great layer to an intensly fraught, private story they'll never know the truth about. They don't know or understand the Lisbon girls (or even try very hard to, while they're still alive). No matter how they try to insert themselves in their story and pretend closeness to the girls, all they have left in the end are unanswered questions, unaddressed trauma, and a moldering museum of the girls' belongings.
The author does a great job of showing how they can't move on from this--though the intense focus on a bunch of horny boys gets old fast (hence the "this coulda been a shorter book") and the last sections of the book go on and on before ending on a strong final two pages. Very literary fiction of you sir but also very clear you bit off more than you could chew with this premise and didn't know exactly how to wrap up.
I want to see the movie now!
I hesitated to read it for a long time, mostly because of the title and meh experiences with one of the author's other books, but I now wish I'd read it in college or a book club so I could hash out my thoughts about it with some people and compare takes. So definitely an interesting book!
The greek chorus of boys viewing the girls through their own romantic (and limited) notions add a great layer to an intensly fraught, private story they'll never know the truth about. They don't know or understand the Lisbon girls (or even try very hard to, while they're still alive). No matter how they try to insert themselves in their story and pretend closeness to the girls, all they have left in the end are unanswered questions, unaddressed trauma, and a moldering museum of the girls' belongings.
The author does a great job of showing how they can't move on from this--though the intense focus on a bunch of horny boys gets old fast (hence the "this coulda been a shorter book") and the last sections of the book go on and on before ending on a strong final two pages. Very literary fiction of you sir but also very clear you bit off more than you could chew with this premise and didn't know exactly how to wrap up.
I want to see the movie now!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
kissgn's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide
iris3271's review against another edition
dark
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual content, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Self harm
sadiedasie's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt