kaz_brekkerrr's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.0
Minor: Cursing, Alcohol, and Drug use
novella42'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
5.0
I turn to the excellent audiobook to get me through hard days.
Spoiler
Today I re-read it on the long road trip to my grandfather's funeral, and had completely forgotten about the scene where A witnesses the funeral of a beloved grandfather. It happened when I was twenty miles away from the church, and the writing was so powerful and the different layers of grief resonated so intensely with me that I started sobbing. (Luckily my partner was driving.)I just... I keep coming back to this book because it keeps meaning more and new and different things to me at different times in my life. I know it's a young adult book, but I'm 37, and was born with a disability. As a kid I would have given anything to have A's blessing/curse. The story of A's life reminds me of the many different facets of human existence, and helps me feel less alone.
Graphic: Addiction, Body shaming, Grief, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Dysphoria, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Suicidal thoughts, Mental illness, and Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Gaslighting, Sexism, Stalking, Violence, and Transphobia
Minor: Drug use and Self harm
lauralintunen's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Transphobia, Death, Religious bigotry, Fatphobia, and Mental illness
Minor: Drug abuse, Self harm, Car accident, Drug use, Addiction, Bullying, Grief, and Suicidal thoughts
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
rampion's review against another edition
2.0
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Alcoholism, Car accident, Drug use, Grief, Homophobia, and Transphobia
sallytiffany's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Fatphobia
Moderate: Emotional abuse
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
nicolinebl's review
- 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
4.75
I very much enjoyed this book and will definitely watch the movie to see if it is as good as the book it is based on.
Minor: Alcoholism, Addiction, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Self harm, and Mental illness
sirius_feanor's review against another edition
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.75
I liked the idea of a person existing outside gender, race or sexuality. And I wish it was explored more. Instead of all the teenage drama.
Moderate: Body shaming, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
valereads's review
- 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