ginbat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Minor: Drug abuse, Self harm, Fatphobia, Addiction, Alcohol, Child abuse, Confinement, Transphobia, Dysphoria, and Homophobia
scarlettkellett'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Drug abuse, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia and Transphobia
charliethebooklover'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
0.25
Graphic: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Lesbophobia, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Suicide, Addiction, Infidelity, Misogyny, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic friendship
rampion's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Drug use, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Car accident, Child abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Drug use, Alcoholism, and Transphobia
islejazz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Suicide attempt
Moderate: Chronic illness, Gaslighting, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Dysphoria, Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Mental illness, Self harm, Fatphobia, Grief, Eating disorder, Suicide attempt, and Transphobia
hansolitude'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
3.0
Minor: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Homophobia
rbacon'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? It's complicated
Minor: Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Grief, Homophobia, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
valkyleria'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Minor: Homophobia and Suicidal thoughts
onion'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Grief
Moderate: Fatphobia, Body shaming, Bullying, Violence, Stalking, and Infidelity
Minor: Transphobia and Homophobia
valereads's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I found some of the different lives explored really interesting and I wish we could've stuck with them longer but I think that's one aspect of the book that really works. I especially was interested in Leslie, the second life that A ends up in in the book. Kelsea's story was extremely powerful, as someone who has suffered from severe depression, this chapter moved me nearly to tears and how it was resolved really meant a lot to me.
Onto some sections I wasn't such a fan of. I'm trans masc, I want to be clear about when saying what I am about to, I did not like the chapter where A was in a trans guy's body. I think the language used to discuss and describe him was misgendering and could honestly have done without it. That was not my least favourite chapter though. It became clear to me that the author of this book has some underlying prejudices against overweight people. The way the fat character was treated by both the characters and the narrative left me with a bad taste in my mouth. I cannot recommend this book to anyone who is overweight or sensitive regarding weight issues because of it and I am extremely disappointed by that.
On a more positive note, I think some of the philosophy in the book was very interesting, the way David portrays mental illness really spoke to me and the idea of the body as something separate from the mind with it's own desires, in some cases constantly battling for control was something I loved about this book.
And straight back into the negatives, it's time to talk about Rhiannon. I'm not even sure what to say about her, the most memorable character trait she had was that she was mostly nice and kind of shallow, both in her characterisation and attitude to other people. I didn't buy her and A's romance but would probably be more bothered by that if this wasn't a YA with two 16 year old protagonists.
As I mentioned earlier, I definitely would not recommend this to anyone who is fat or has any kind of weight issues and I probably wouldn't recommend it to any of my binary trans friends either. If you find the concept interesting and aren't bothered by the issues I've mentioned then pick it up, just remember that the protagonists are 16, stupid and shallow is just how a lot of teens are.
Content warnings: fatphobia, misgendering, some ableism, consent issues, homophobia, drug use, addiction, alcohol, religion, domestic abuse, discussions of suicide, emotional abuse, physical abuse
Graphic: Addiction, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Transphobia
Moderate: Bullying, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia
Minor: Self harm