allouise's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Suicide, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Misogyny, Rape, and Self harm
pretentiousnerd's review
- 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
1.75
Not gonna go on and on about this waste of time but yeah... don't read this book if you expect something extraordinary...
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Bullying, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicide, Sexual violence, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Death of parent, Blood, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Violence, Eating disorder, Injury/injury detail, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Classism, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use
elishahdavis's review
3.0
i usually don’t check content warnings because i find that i can handle a lot of it fine, and even if i had checked them, i honestly would’ve read it anyways. but i urge you, please check the content warnings and take them very seriously. also the list storygraph has when you first look is incredibly insufficient. it has the vast majority of the content warnings on their full list of them. so just be aware of that.
the ending was a relief, but i was still very uncomfortable when they mentioned certain parts of their relationship dynamic. the very ending, as in like the last page was good. she seemed stable, and it seemed right, especially considering their unhealthy and extreme co-dependence. i just— the way i felt reading this book? i never want to feel that again. i felt sick and awful and i can’t even describe it. it was very well written, and, surprisingly, i liked the whole no quotation marks thing. i just felt like ive been falsely advertised to. how can this be someone’s favorite book? how could you recommend this to people that you like? i don’t get it. i think me and sally rooney are over, just because if her other books are like this one i will not be able to handle them. anyways i really do not know how to rate this. i saw some review that said after they were done reading they just thought “why? what was the point of that?” and it clicked for me. that’s exactly how i feel. i feel hurt and burdened in the worst possible way, wondering “why? that wasn’t worth it”. that’s the best way to summarize what i think of this book.
now off to read some ya romcom because this book is actually triggering me into depression, and i mean that literally, unfortunately.
Graphic: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Suicide, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Body shaming, and Physical abuse
Minor: Misogyny, Vomit, and Death of parent
sophiehoggins'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
4.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Sexual content, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Minor: Alcohol and Blood
leahhmorriss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Individually, my heart broke for them both and the things they had to go through were horrible. I loved Marianne so much and I feel like I deeply related to her so many times. Connell went through so much too but I think he frustrated me more when it came to Marianne because he seemed to be the one who was more off again/on again.
Fuck Alan, fuck that stupid teacher.
Special shout out to Lorraine, she was the best character.
Also, Sally Rooney, why don’t you fucking use speech marks. It was so annoying. I didn’t really love the writing style of this book and it was confusing how it went between flashbacks and present time randomly; I had to keep rereading parts.
I did enjoy this book overall and it was a great example of a real life relationship. I’m about to watch the TV show right now.
Graphic: Mental illness, Misogyny, Bullying, Sexual violence, and Sexual content
Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse
Minor: Suicide and Suicidal thoughts
ileesha'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
3.0
Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Child abuse, Classism, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
Moderate: Sexual harassment, Violence, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Misogyny, and Racism
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Grief, Sexual assault, and Pedophilia
kaneebli's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Eating disorder, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Bullying, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Sexism, and Classism
Minor: Racism, Suicide, Blood, and Adult/minor relationship
holliesatchell's review
- 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: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Death of parent, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Eating disorder, Misogyny, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, and Suicide
bookishlittleme's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I have heard a lot of comments about Sally Rooney's writing being hard to read because she does not use quotations to help the reader recognize dialogue. Personally, I fell in love with her writing style as soon as I picked up the book. As for the dialogue it's definitely more feeling than reading a quotation mark that lets you know when someone is speaking. This is a very sad book but I think if you're drawn to it you should read it. Check the content warnings though!
Graphic: Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Misogyny
Minor: Abortion
woosha's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Mental illness, Toxic relationship, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Bullying and Sexual content
Minor: Misogyny