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jennnaaaa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death and Transphobia
hannahnahb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Minor: Domestic abuse and Transphobia
bhaunty'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
A beautiful insight into a trans woman’s experience and life while also dealing with the mystery of her death.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Transphobia, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
lifeofchrstnlvly'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
4.25
However, I have to admit I felt betrayed by how the story unfolded. The plot twist around the halfway point completely unhinged me—not in a good way. It shifted the focus of the narrative to something entirely different. While it was still part of the story, it wasn't the plot I was expecting based on the blurb.
The ending also felt rushed. I didn't agree with the conclusion, especially after we finally learned what happened on that day. Ava's choices were also questionable. I understand that she only wanted Lily to be happy, but that doesn't mean she should give in to everything Lily desired. Ava could have waited a few more years before allowing Lily to pursue all the things Lily wanted. If Ava had made different choices, Lily might have grown stronger and wiser.
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Self harm, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Misogyny, and Gaslighting
seregelda'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? It's complicated
4.0
Two novel pet peeves: Anachronistic names (There were no "Bradens" born in the 70s, that is a pure 2000s name!), and back-dating a story to avoid the pandemic.
I had no clue what this novel was about, and might not have read it if I knew it was mostly courtroom drama. But I liked the main characters and how they were both fonts of knowledge and trivia. And I like to promote novels about the LGBTQIA+ community. The first "twist" of the story was spoiled for me long before I read it, and that's partly why I picked it up. I won't say more here for spoilers. But I've only read one Jodi Picoult novel before (My Sister's Keeper) and it was twisty good. I'd never heard of Jennifer Finney Boylan, but her chapters were awesome and the book flowed seamlessly :)
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Violence
Moderate: Sexual content and Suicide attempt
Minor: Homophobia
hayleycorrigan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Self harm
Minor: Abortion
a_marie444'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
4.5
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Transphobia, and Suicide attempt
moominmama22'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
4.0
Moderate: Transphobia
Minor: Death
chemreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.75
I also now know way more about bees and beekeeping than I ever imagined. However, the purpose of all this information for the book is still not clear to me. At best, the bees served as a blunt metaphor for the unfolding plot, but in most cases it did nothing for the story since everything was spelled out anyway. If everything bee related was deleted from the book, it would be at least 100 pages shorter and neither plot nor character development would suffer.
Lastly, this would have been a dnf for me, but am reading for a book club, so had to push through.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Abortion, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Toxic friendship
missmeliss's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Transphobia, and Murder