Scan barcode
bookhead420's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Gun violence, Suicide, and Murder
Minor: Domestic abuse
sar_willow'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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
sarasreading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
And it was a really satisfying ending too! I think this one is going to stay with me, and I'll be ruminating on it for a long time. I may even bump it up from 4.5 to 5 stars if it really sticks.
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Infidelity, Pedophilia, and Kidnapping
sertzo19'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Death and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Child death and Death of parent
Minor: Gun violence
razkat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Rape, Kidnapping, Murder, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
ottercorg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.5
However! About halfway through I did start to really dig my teeth into it. As with a lot of the books I've read recently, once things started to fall into place and I started to see the connections, I got a lot more interested.
The concept is certainly interesting, the characters were fine, I just wanted...more.
I wish it had been two books. One about "the before" and one about "the after," but I understand that you can't predict success and if you aren't sure you'll get a second book deal, you might as well put both stories in one.
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Infidelity, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
rowan27'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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Violence, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Gun violence
Minor: Rape
juliusclearance's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
I considered giving this book a five star as I didn’t want to undersell the book and my experience with it. The story was at times uncomfortable, and although I would have preferred a different ending, but this is a book I will recommend and likely reread.
I do think the moral of the story is a little heavy handed at the end, and I would
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, and Violence
parissummerreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Death, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Slavery, Torture, Blood, and Abandonment
bibliomania_express's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I've owned this book since December 2018, but I hadn't gotten around to reading it before March 2020. And then I couldn't bring myself to. I wonder, having read it now, what my experience of the pandemic would have been if I had. On one hand, this story explores a total society collapse due to a swift and extremely deadly virus, so much worse than we experienced. So maybe that would have been comforting. But I don't think so. I found the chapters of the collapse extremely stressful, and actually had a pandemic nightmare. Mandel does an amazingly vivid job of depicting the range of human reactions to such a virulent outbreak.
Moving away from that, I found this book's exploration of public perception, legacy, physical media, and community fascinating. The Travelling Symphony continues to perform Shakespeare, while Kirsten finds comfort in sci-fi through memories of Star Trek and the comic Station Eleven. There's celebrity magazines, newspapers, and other physical items and media that speak to the world we have.
I enjoyed how the point-of-view narrators lives circled around each other, although I do wish some connections were made on-page in the "present day". I had particular hopes for two of the characters.
Too much of this book felt heartbreakingly real in a way I have to give Mandel props for.
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence, Grief, and Pandemic/Epidemic
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual violence