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lizziaha's review against another edition
emotional
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
This book jumps between a lot of different perspectives and because of that, some parts of it are much stronger than others. My personal favorite was the Marx highlight. “you will miss the horses” was my favorite line in the entire book I also just love the focus on the nitty gritty aspects of friendship. The way it’s written here is almost overwhelming because it spans years and it’s just so dang realistic. The petty grievances, the misplaced blame, the hurt, the love, the taking care of each other, the hurting each other, the falling apart and falling back together, the doubts, the expectations, the genius, the melding of souls. I like how there’s a pull to Sadie and Sam’s relationship, like it’s irresistible. Sometimes that pull is reserved for romantic relationships, but you see it in all types of relationships in this book. I also liked the way that memory is a slippery thing in this book. In books that span years but can be read in hours, sometimes we expect the characters to have the same picture perfect memory of happenings in the book as we do, even though it’s unrealistic. That’s not the case here. It’s a very thought-provoking book, but the thing that made me love it the most is that it made me want to create. Sam and Sadie pour so much of themselves into their games and the result always means something. I crave that feeling.
Graphic: Ableism, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Drug use, Sexual violence, Mass/school shootings, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Child abuse, Deadnaming, and Acephobia/Arophobia
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