elliemackian'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
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Death, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Body shaming, Pedophilia, Eating disorder, Sexual assault, Abandonment, Chronic illness, Forced institutionalization, Gore, and Medical content
kaylajardim'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
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Adult/minor relationship, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Ableism, Grief, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Abandonment, Blood, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Sexual assault
greenan26'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Trafficking, Sexual violence, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Medical content, Addiction, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Gaslighting, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Chronic illness, Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Mental illness, Ableism, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Abandonment, Self harm, Gore, Car accident, Blood, and Medical trauma
sophie_inthebooks'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Self harm, Terminal illness, Suicide, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Eating disorder, Child abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Physical abuse, Drug use, Blood, Adult/minor relationship, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Death, Grief, Emotional abuse, Chronic illness, and Car accident
jessidbee'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: Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Sexual violence, Dysphoria, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Bullying, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Confinement, Eating disorder, Self harm, Abandonment, Physical abuse, Rape, and Suicide
anfripa'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
3.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Mental illness, Self harm, Blood, Bullying, Physical abuse, Sexual harassment, Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Medical trauma, Body horror, Chronic illness, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, and Violence
elishacarles's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Gore, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Grief, Sexual violence, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Self harm, Child death, Death, Medical trauma, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, Abandonment, Blood, Car accident, Eating disorder, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, and Rape
madalynedwards'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
5.0
This book contains many, many, many trigger warnings.
—
I’ll probably go back and add on to this review later but it’s 2 a.m. and I just finished this book and I am not okay.
Did I read this book because I knew it was supposedly heart wrenching and I wanted it to rip my heart out and smash it into thousands of tiny pieces? Yes. Was I prepared? No.
Okay, so I’m going to be honest, this was *almost* a DNF for me. I listened to it on audiobook at 3x speed and found myself losing interest. But I kept on trucking until 30% where I couldn’t decide if I wanted to DNF it or not. I rarely DNF a book, not that I think there’s anything wrong with DNFing, but I heard incredible reviews and wanted to keep going. I picked it back up a few days later and listened to the remaining 70% of this 800+ page novel without pressing pause. I was hooked - I couldn’t help but feel that if I put the book down, I would be abandoning the characters in their darkest times, and I so desperately wanted to see them overcome their demons and trauma (I did a little happy gasp when I got to the section titled “The Happy Days”, but rest assured friends, the happy days are not the final days.) The characters are beautifully flawed, well developed, and beautifully written. The strongest feeling I felt as I read was that of prolonged despair. Jude’s abusive past leads him to sabotaging himself, thinking he is not worthy of happiness or joy or love or, during some instances, life itself. And it’s heartbreaking. It’s absolutely gut wrenching.
Jude, it seems, was the unluckiest individual growing up. Jude made a comment in the later half of the book how he has been lucky all his life, but that is not true. The main criticism I have of the book is that I found myself thinking “surely one person cannot go through all of this”… it seems like Jude was in the wrong place at the wrong time every time. When he would reveal details about himself in little pieces, I would find myself thinking “this is the terrible trauma Jude endured that has resulted in his thoughts and motives…” but no, each passing chapter would peel back another layer of trauma he endured. I found myself wondering how one person could endure so many traumatic events, and during times wondered why the author was adding to these layers of trauma even after Jude had been through so much. So yeah, the main emotion, along with anger (for those who wronged Jude - and trust me, there are a lot) I felt while reading was despair. Pure and utter despair.
Graphic: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Death, Medical trauma, Rape, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Suicide, Abandonment, Ableism, Grief, Kidnapping, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Blood, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
catsandbeets's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Violence, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Suicide, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Eating disorder, Sexual violence, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Rape, Mental illness, Homophobia, Self harm, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Chronic illness
addi_gurl'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
5.0
Graphic: Eating disorder, Suicide, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Child abuse, Suicide attempt, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Death, Hate crime, Trafficking, and Pedophilia