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emily_mh's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Unfortunately I didn’t super enjoy my time with this one. Whenever I put it down I just didn’t feel compelled to pick it back up again. This might be because the pacing was slow and the narrative took a WHILE to set things up. I’m so bummed about it because I thought I would love it, seeing as I have anxiety and other invisible disabilities like Ava does.
The disability rep itself was great. The anxiety rep was very true to what my internal monologue looks like when my mental health isn’t so good. I can’t speak to the noncompaction cardiomyopathy rep but I could relate to the fact that people misjudged Ava because they either didn’t know she was disabled, or didn’t understand her disability.
I actually found myself liking the improv aspect and thought it was a realistic way of Ava learning how to manage her anxiety. I also thought the local activism was a good storyline, and liked how improv tied into it too. Functionally, it added depth to the narrative and to Ava’s character development, but more importantly it was great to see that behaviour modelled for young readers.
Finally, I did enjoy the last third a whole lot better than the first two thirds. But, despite all this praise, my rating ultimately came down to my enjoyment of the book, which was low overall.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Classism
Moderate: Medical content
Minor: Ableism, Death, Drug use, Excrement, Vomit, and Fire/Fire injury
Major: gentrification, illness Moderate: HP references (2 total) Minor: earthquake, theft, divorce