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cowardlyteaman'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? No
3.5
I'll be completely honest, and say that the first half of the book was rather uninteresting. The action didn't start until the last hundred pages of the book, but there was definitely potential for more action earlier on as well, to make it more exciting. There was a lot of identity issues and character dialogue during the first half of the book, which is by no means irrelevant to the plot, but to me it got dull.
I also wish that Yadriel had been given a more distinct personality. Julian was exceptional, Maritza was amazing, Catriz was fabulous, but Yadriel...? He deserved more than being a pretty standard protagonist-y type. Apart from being trans, he doesn't stand out as a protagonist at all, and being trans shouldn't be what makes him special. At least the trans people I know have personalities beside being trans.
However! I loved how Spanish was used in this book. Usually, non-English words will be written in cursive, alienating them, as it were. But here they're kind of just woven into the text as any other word, because of course Spanish isn't foreign at all to the narrator, and it makes it easier for me as a reader to relate as well, despite being the from the whitest of corners in Norway.
This applies to the rest of the culture references as well. It was all explained in a very nice way.
On a side note concerning the identity and language here: Why was there one line where author Thomas wrote «Latinx mom»? If the gender was unspecified, it would've made perfect sense, but if it's given that she's a mom, then wouldn't she be Latina...? As far as I know, you wouldn't really have a Latino mom? Maybe a Latino's mom, but... unless I misinterpreted, that wasn't the case.
Anyways, I've given my opinion, but I still enjoyed the read. Frankly quite predictable, but aren't all stories these days.
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Racism, Death of parent, Murder, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Abandonment, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation
mle11's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Dysphoria
Minor: Animal death, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Deportation
grets_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Confinement, Abandonment, Dysphoria, and Deportation
madamenovelist'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Ableism, Cursing, and Transphobia
anni_swanilda'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing
Minor: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Abandonment, and Deportation
chaotic_corvid's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.75
Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Physical abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Torture, Religious bigotry, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Classism, and Deportation
kalzeb'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
4.5
Graphic: Death, Transphobia, Blood, Kidnapping, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Deadnaming and Death of parent
Minor: Animal cruelty, Cursing, Grief, Car accident, and Cultural appropriation
melismatic'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Cursing, Transphobia, and Violence
_nutella52'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? No
4.25
Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Grief, Death of parent, Outing, Dysphoria, and Deportation
Moderate: Body horror, Drug use, Gore, Blood, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Animal death and Cultural appropriation
purplepickle'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Cursing, Transphobia, Blood, Alcohol, Dysphoria, and Deportation
Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, and Injury/Injury detail