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cowardlyteaman'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
I absolutely love the way these characters are built, to be honest. They all got on my nerves at different points, but I still cherished all of them. I really like it when flawed characters.🫶
Willem is wonderful, of course, but not perfect? He makes mistakes! He's selfish, even. Delusional, at points.
Jude has been through — more than most, to say the least. And to be completely frank, it gets old after a while. I get tired of hearing about his problems, and I get tired of reading about him falling into the same patterns over and over again. However, I'm sure he's just as tired as I am. Or far more, probably. When I realised this, it became easier to empathise with his character.
JB is such a wonderfully flawed character. He made me wince with second hand ... not even embarrassment, just pain. I love him, even if he's a crown dick at multiple points during the book.
Malcolm is just there, honestly. Emotional support architect. But I do love a homosexual who never manages to admit it.
However, there comes the problem ... that there is no plot. There is no plot whatsoever. There is no end goal, no ambition the characters have for the future. They just are.
Hadn't it been for the fact that I annotated and analysed this book (just for hobby), then I might have quickly discarded it...
The events are short and repetitive, and soon become extremely predictable.
Moving on to something slightly more off-track... the names.
Jude St. Francis is such a great name for a character. I love it so much. Fits him so well.
Willem Ragnarsson, however. Eh. As a Nordic person myself, I have to say that I'm a bit confused. He has a Danish mother and an Icelandic father who gave their son a Dutch name? It's by no means impossible, but William or Vilhjálmur or Wilhelm would've just made more sense? Don't even get me started on the fact that these two Swedish-speaking parents named their severely disabled son Hemming. In Norwegian (which in all honesty is not much different from Swedish), «hemming» means handicap. Hämning /hem-ning/ in Swedish. While I'm sure the author had no intention of this, it jus seems absolutely ridiculous of them to name their child eith cerebral palsy Hemming. Not to mention that no-one's fucking named that in Denmark, Sweden, or Iceland.
That was my rant. It was worth it, despite the occasional drags of COMPLETELY irrelevant information.
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Trafficking, Medical content, Mental illness, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Blood, Body shaming, Grief, Ableism, Child abuse, Dysphoria, Medical trauma, Eating disorder, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Violence, Car accident, Death, Domestic abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Rape, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Addiction, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Self harm, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Racism and Racial slurs
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
hollieadaw'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: Hate crime, Suicide, Blood, Child abuse, Self harm, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Ableism, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Torture, Sexual assault, Death, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, and Rape
queerhoney'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: Abandonment, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Rape, Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Self harm, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Gore, Physical abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Drug abuse, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Vomit, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, Body horror, Body shaming, Gun violence, Medical content, Sexual violence, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Cancer
luce98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The characters are so well fleshed out. I feel like I know them as friends.Â
Jude St Francis will stay will me for a very very long time.Â
Graphic: Death, Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Sexual content, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Blood, Drug use, Physical abuse, Rape, Violence, Death of parent, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Addiction, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Ableism, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, Gore, Grief, Sexual violence, and Suicidal thoughts
rileyhawkins'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: Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Cursing, Rape, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Dysphoria, Trafficking, Torture, Pedophilia, Grief, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Stalking, Sexual harassment, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Ableism, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Vomit, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Self harm, Racism, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Kidnapping, Medical content, Hate crime, Alcohol, Outing, Mental illness, Infidelity, Gaslighting, and Forced institutionalization
bananachip868'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Cursing, Chronic illness, Medical trauma, Rape, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Pedophilia, Blood, Car accident, Gore, Grief, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Violence
Moderate: Child death
goodbyedarling'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: Rape, Pedophilia, Addiction, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Physical abuse, Eating disorder, Drug abuse, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Self harm, Death, Grief, Forced institutionalization, Emotional abuse, Blood, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, Chronic illness, Child abuse, Car accident, and Vomit
Moderate: Racism, Acephobia/Arophobia, and Homophobia
avamccluer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Body shaming, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Blood, Death, Drug use, Grief, Addiction, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, and Gore
Moderate: Suicide, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, Racism, Suicide attempt, Torture, Violence, Rape, Vomit, and Self harm
joongarten'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
4.75
Graphic: Stalking, Adult/minor relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Car accident, Gaslighting, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Torture, Abandonment, Homophobia, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Vomit, Body shaming, Drug use, Eating disorder, Bullying, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, and Sexual assault