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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
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
tea_at_mole_end's review against another edition
4.75
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gun violence, Violence, and Murder
franklola'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
Moderate: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
therainbowshelf'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
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, Kidnapping, and Fire/Fire injury
theoldestbennetsister's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Mental illness, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Ableism, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Police brutality, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Addiction, Child abuse, Medical content, Kidnapping, Lesbophobia, and Injury/Injury detail
glowingskies'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
5.0
Moderate: Gun violence and Violence
megplant's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
stateofiction's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Issue #1: The casual use of the D slur written by a gay man, used by a gay man.
Issue #2: Abusive parent. Nick has ADHD, and his father's general response any time Nick had a singular emotion was to say "have you taken your meds?". He also believed privacy was a privilege and grounded without a time limit.
Issue #3: HEAVY COPAGANDA. This book has blue lives matter written all over it. Every few pages Nick would go on about how good cops are, then often within the same page, a cop would be a pig? In one specific example, Nick went off about how cops should be paid more (they should not), then the cop he was speaking to said he wished he could use his taser more freely. There are so many other instances like this as well.
Issue #4: Back to Nick's ADHD. Nick was constantly blaming being a bad friend and being selfish on "lol I have ADHD". How is that type of representation positive to young readers with ADHD? How is that positive for people without it wanting to learn?
This is one of the most damaging pieces of children's literature I have read published post 2000. I would not recommend this to anyone, and I question your judgement if you found no problems with it.
Moderate: Gun violence, Homophobia, and Death of parent
alibader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
What I enjoyed: (a short list)
1. Nick's cluelessness (until about the halfway point)
2. The romance (so cute!)
3. The overall premise (I wish I could say the same for the execution)
4. The ending.
What I did not enjoy:
1. The insensitivity towards police brutality and the character of Aaron Bell.
2. The camp - it took away from the story that could've been told and made it look like a bad parody.
3. The dialogue (teenagers do not talk like that)
4.
5. The reveals (I'd like to think that these were intentionally obvious but that didn't make it any more fun - also it was super anti-climatic). The ending wrapped up way too quickly too.
6. The "comedy". One of my biggest gripes with this book was that serious moments didn't make that much of an effect and instead served as "comedic relief" - it wasn't funny.
This is my longest review yet but I truly did want to enjoy this queer superhero series but I was so disappointed. I may give the sequel a try in the future.
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, and Death of parent
Moderate: Gun violence and Medical content
Minor: Homophobia