jesselopod'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Mass/school shootings, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Sexual violence, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Antisemitism
nabecker13's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Homophobia, Physical abuse, Abortion, Body horror, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Blood, Chronic illness, Cancer, Car accident, Death, Sexual harassment, Vomit, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Terminal illness, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pregnancy, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Sexual violence
Minor: Antisemitism
scmiller's review
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Suicide, Grief, Murder, Gun violence, Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Infidelity, Car accident, Gun violence, Murder, Cancer, Injury/Injury detail, and Mass/school shootings
Minor: Alcohol, Gaslighting, Violence, Fatphobia, Medical content, Racism, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Racial slurs, Infidelity, Antisemitism, Homophobia, Hate crime, Abortion, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, Sexism, Pregnancy, and Body shaming
bonjoery's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Death, Grief, Homophobia, Suicide, Mass/school shootings, Gaslighting, Drug use, and Car accident
Moderate: Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Xenophobia, Sexism, Cultural appropriation, and Cancer
addie'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: Medical content, Gun violence, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Death, Car accident, Grief, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, and Murder
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Sexism, and Pregnancy
Minor: Terminal illness and Racial slurs
maddiebusick'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
Graphic: Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Death of parent, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Toxic relationship, Blood, Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, Sexism, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Infidelity, Cursing, Classism, Violence, Terminal illness, Sexual violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Drug use, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Cancer, Sexism, Racism, Racial slurs, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Emotional abuse
mal_reads_books's review
The narration, while easy to read, also had some issues. Too much tell, not much show. It felt slow and focused too much on the game designing process, in my opinion. The social commentary included in this story felt forced to me. That and the author’s constant use of archaic vocabulary felt pretentious. I felt this book was lacking in depth for what the author was trying to accomplish.
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual assault, Medical content, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Cancer
Sadie dates her professor, who has a crass sense of humor and is creepy and disgusting. HeSpoiler
literally sexually assaults herbespectacledscribbler'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
4.5
Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Grief, Death, Suicide, and Gun violence
Moderate: Ableism, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Blood, Rape, Car accident, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Gaslighting, Misogyny, Cancer, Confinement, Mental illness, and Pregnancy
vel629vet's review
- 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
4.0
This book came to me at the wrong time in my life. If i had read it 10 years ago or maybe 10 years from now, I think I would love it. I also think the hype over this book ruined it a bit for me, because I was not emotionally prepared for how heartbreaking much of this story is.Â
Zevin’s writing is beautiful, and her prose should absolutely be studied.Â
I wasn’t a fan of the shifting timelines, and the sad moments were just too sad for me. But the storytelling was immaculate, and the characters were more complex than nearly anything else I’ve ever read.Â
I do recommend, but don’t go in expecting the lighthearted book about friendship and video games that I was.Â
Graphic: Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, and Violence
Moderate: Abortion and Sexism
Minor: Vomit
qrschulte's review
- 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
I didn’t find Sadie and Sam particularly likable, but I completely understood their motivations and their choices were believable.Â
This was a really ambitious book, and I think Zevin executed it really well. You can tell she put in a lot of time researching to make it realistic. It’s clearly a love letter to gaming, and I really appreciated the style of the different sections. I think it added a lot to the narrative. This is definitely a book that I will enjoy even more on a future read, though having a physical copy would make it easier to flip back to remind myself of different sections.Â
Graphic: Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Misogyny, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Body shaming, Car accident, Chronic illness, Death, Dysphoria, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Pregnancy, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Cursing, Abortion, Classism, Cultural appropriation, Eating disorder, Terminal illness, Vomit, Domestic abuse, and Physical abuse
Minor: Antisemitism, Islamophobia, and War
Not a true adult/minor relationship, but the power dynamic was definitely like one. The ableism is more internalized.