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carlapastor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Still, there's this line when Ambrose is talking about Iraq and its people that makes me give this book such a low score because it gave me the major ick: "though the Kurds were slightly more tolerant and recognized that *America might be their only hope*"... what the actual fuck? Yeah just like Palestine's only hope is Israel, or Germany's only hope in 1936 were the nazis? Honestly disgusting. Of course I did some research and turns out the author seems politically ambiguous because she has ideas that scream leftist but is very right-leaning. And I do not believe in separating the art from the artist.
I have read another one of her books, What the wind knows, which was a beautifully written story about Ireland, so I had high hopes for this one too. The premise seemed cool. But it disappointed me so much. However, it is true that there's a 5-year difference from when she published this book to when she published the other one, so maybe she just grew up a lot. I really hope so, honestly.
Also just one thing why is everyone's favorite quote "If god makes all of our faces, did he laugh when making mine?" because I hate it to my core. And it's not even about religion because this is a very religious book and I couldn't care less as an atheist, but that quote bothered me so much for some reason.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Grief, Medical trauma, and War
bbygirl21's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Bailey was my favorite out of this whole book. Everyone in the book loved him and I understand why. He's the funniest sweetest most loving character. Most of my favorite quotes from this book came from him. It absolutely broke my heart what happened to him in this book. I knew he was gonna live a short life due to his muscular disease, I just didn't know that he was gonna go the way he did. He definitely deserved to have gone in a different way. But I can see why he went the way he did. It makes sense with the type of person he is.
I also really loved the theme of this book about beauty not being everything. Most of these characters are flawed in some way shape or form. Maybe not at the beginning but eventually you start to see the flaws of these characters.
I can't recommend this book enough. It may end up being in my top favorites of the year. Especially considering this is my first 5 star read of 2024. I would recommend this to everyone.
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Terminal illness, Violence, Grief, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical content, and Murder
Minor: Alcoholism, Infertility, and Pregnancy
luchikreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Death and Grief
Moderate: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, Murder, and War
gloriazthompson'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
4.0
Graphic: Child death and Physical abuse
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, War, and Injury/Injury detail
bookswithangeli'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
Moderate: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, and Grief
Minor: Alcoholism and Bullying
midwesternreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I will say that this book had subject matter that went into some emotional places for me personally, places that I have been terrified of most of my adult life. Some of my greatest fears were in here, and while I sobbed I also was reminded that even when things hit that rock bottom there is beauty that can be found.
This was a beautiful and guy-wrenching story. As I finished the last page it was with a smile through tears. The raw emotion this book pulled on was a lot.
I absolutely adored Fern. She was a character that was a little naive in some respects, but also so strong and resilient without ever really knowing she was. Bailey also held such a special place in my heart, as did Ambrose. Their stories will sit with me for awhile.
This is a story of sacrifice, of not letting the things that are hard hold you down, of friendships despite differences, of love that goes beyond attraction. This is a story of taking some risks, of not being afraid of what others say, and for not giving up on one another.
This is going to be quite the book to recover from.
Graphic: Death and Grief
eurybia'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
Graphic: Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Grief, and War