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puali'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
3.5
I loved (and related) to Nick’s way of thinking. Sometimes there’s just too many things you want to say at the same time and your brain just can’t handle that.
I’m not the hugest fan of superhero stories, but this was one was just the right amount of unserious for me to enjoy it. I had faith in Klune, and he delivered.
Moderate: Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, and Death of parent
Minor: Death, Blood, and Car accident
cats33's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Police brutality
Minor: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Torture, Medical content, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Outing, and Gaslighting
elliott_the_clementine'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
4.25
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, and Death of parent
Minor: Police brutality
mallorypen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
In all seriousness, the cringe of this novel was strong. I get that we're in the mind of a 16 year old boy with ADHD and apparently a high threshold for shame, but I found Nick to be insufferable as a protagonist. The level of devotion he earns from Seth doesn't necessarily make sense - aside from the "becoming friends on the playground as kids" element, I don't understand why Seth likes him so much. Nick is entirely self-centered for 90% of the novel, and even his moments of bravery and selflessness aren't entirely altruistic.
The bad self-insert RPF fanfiction element didn't help with the cringe, either. And I don't think I reacted strongly to it because it was cringy and bad; but it did feel like TJ Klune was inviting us to laugh at Nick through his bad fanfiction, which didn't sit right.
It might have been a stylistic choice, but I also found some of the dialogue to be a little wooden - especially from Owen, who sounded more and more like a comic book villain as the story progressed.
The redeeming factors for this novel were mostly from the relationship between Nick and his father (very believable), the quasi-but-not-entirely unique take on superhero stories, and for the moments of great heart; I personally don't think this is an example of TJ Klune at his heartfelt, empathetic best, but there were definitely bits and pieces that felt poignant and wholesome amid the nonsensical choices that felt like even a step too far for the excuse of "but they were dumb teenage boys."
All in all, not my favorite. I even technically DNF'd because I couldn't stand the final bit of bad fanfic at the end.
Moderate: Violence
Minor: Death of parent
thecandiegirl'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
Minor: Cursing, Gore, Mental illness, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
starsnstitchin's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Abandonment
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Police brutality, Kidnapping, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
djierie'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
2.75
Moderate: Violence and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death, Police brutality, and Death of parent
evelynyle_88'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: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Violence, and Police brutality
telliot'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
3.5
Graphic: Mental illness, Violence, and Death of parent
madzie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Death, and Violence
Minor: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, and Medical content
Mention of train accident prior to events of the story which lead to the parents' death.