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dkropp1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Fire/Fire injury
shankarhere's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Cancer, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
hdunscombe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Minor: Infidelity and Sexual content
jennalightner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Child death, Suicide attempt, and Abandonment
erikagibson126's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Grief, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Classism
kelsylee'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Self harm
Moderate: Child abuse and Child death
Minor: Animal death and Cancer
jrlibros's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse and Child death
elisalasater's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Moderate: Child death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Violence
astoriareader'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
- Jack & Elizabeth are married & have a son together. They’ve been together for about twenty year, and they met in college in the early 90s while living in Wicker Park.
- The book centers around these two characters, but it jumps around in time a lot. We get to learn their backstories & childhoods.
- After 20 years together, Jack & Elizabeth struggle to recognize each other, and Hill intertwines back stories to give us deeper insight as well.
- 600 page sweeping story.
- Deftly executed + amazing character development. Hill flushes out the back stories to our two main characters. We get to see them at their highs and their lows.
- As a former psych major, I loved all the psychological references & the general psychological meanderings.
- This book tackles a giant range of topics, such as love, marriage, conspiracy theories, parenting, trendy fitness programs, Facebook algorithms, placebos, polyamory, trauma, poignant social media commentary, “the Secret”, 90s culture, and provably lots more that I am forgetting.
- Hill is a master at storytelling, and I resonated with his writing style. The book feels so real, relatable, and human.
- I really loved the exploration of how humans grow & change. Jack & Elizabeth are not their twenty year old selves for eternity. What do we do with that? What is love? How do we evolve as humans, and what does it mean if our life partners have evolved in different ways?
- Hill clearly researched a lot of topics & even includes a bibliography. He’s smart, and I enjoyed his commentary throughout the book.
Graphic: Child death, Emotional abuse, and Grief
Moderate: Cancer and Infidelity
fkshg8465's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail