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ksnizzle13's review against another edition
5.0
Although the content made it very difficult to read, it really was a beautifully written novel. This is my second time reading one of Jessica Knoll’s novels, the first being Bright Young Women, and I really have a better understanding of her as a writer, in a sense. Bright Young Women evoked powerful emotions of anger, sadness, heartbreak, and injustice - this was also my experience with this novel. I love reading stories with characters that really embody the complexities of being human - the good, the bad, the flaws, the versions we present to the world vs the ones we keep to ourselves. I really love her voice and how she opens up a window for the reader into a different perspective.
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Rape, Mass/school shootings, and Suicide attempt
vonny3492'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Eating disorder, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Sexism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Grief, Abortion, Suicide attempt, and Murder
emmyshh'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
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Excrement, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Vomit, and Cultural appropriation
vanessacorwin'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? It's complicated
3.25
Moderate: Eating disorder, Racism, and Rape
Minor: Drug use
david_brent's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Excrement
lifeisaeisha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The good:
- it's very hard to talk about
rape and sexual assault, especially as a survivor. So I definitely give the author her props for approaching both that and school shootings, and depicting them both realistically. - The story was incredibly engaging. Although the characters were largely unlikable and at times insufferable, the plot had me locked in and I couldn't wait to get to the bottom of Ani's story and understand why she turned out the way that she did.
- I think it was important to show characters like Ani's mother and
the planned parenthood nurse . Women who perpetuate patriarchy by dismissing, downplaying, and outright ignoring obvious abuse.
The bad:
- Right out the gate we are introduced to Ani's disordered eating, but at no point is it acknowledged as such, or as a thing for her to work on. Both times her best friend bright it up, she dismissed her and moved on.
- The plot with
the teacher was suuuuper unnecessary, and it was never acknowledged how creepy and inappropriate it was. - (A personal gripe, not so much a fault of the author.) I would have liked to see more of how
the documentary turned out and the fallout for Dean . I understand that Ani's closure came from the face to face acknowledgement of his crimes against her, but it would have been nice to see him finally lose.
Graphic: Death, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gore, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, and Mass/school shootings
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Vomit, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Panic attacks/disorders
paperdreamsblog'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
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Rape, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Toxic friendship
bookdragonk's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cursing and Classism
jamieholton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Eating disorder, Rape, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Mass/school shootings, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
tabsmith's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Eating disorder, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Vomit, Mass/school shootings, and Murder
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship