bbrewer14'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? Yes
3.75
Colleen Hoover’s books are enjoyable to me, but despite how much I enjoyed this book, I will consider it a guilty pleasure since it was kind of poorly written and juvenile. The character names were over the top and despite the decent character development, the ending was so succinct and tidy that it left me wanting. The idea that life in a world as dysfunctional as the one of the characters presented in this book can be wrapped up with a tidy little bow was why I rated the book in the 3’s. It leaves you wanting more from the characters and the author.
The book’s focus is on the Voss family. Twin sisters Merit and Honor, older brother Utah, the father, the mother (Victoria), the stepmother (also Victoria), the young half-sibling Moby, the step-uncle Luck and a family friend Sagan make up the main characters. All of these people live in a remodeled church in a small TX town. The mother lives downstairs and suffers from a multitude of health issues. The father, the kids, the stepparent and stepuncle and friend all live upstairs. The main character, Merit, feels alienated and unwanted. The book explores her journey within her family and other relationships as she discovers the importance of listening, communicating, putting forth the truth, learning to forgive and navigating her teen years. Merit struggles as the self-proclaimed outcast of the family and goes on a journey to discover how to be a part of her family or if she even wants to remain in this world to do so.
It is a good book and is a decent choice to pass the time, but it definitely needed more time to become what it could have been if the author gave it more effort.
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Animal death, and Vomit
Moderate: Suicide, Abandonment, Cancer, Chronic illness, Outing, Infidelity, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Incest, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual content
Minor: Eating disorder, Grief, Alcohol, Bullying, War, and Cursing
nbreezy17'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
5.0
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Infidelity, Suicide, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Vomit and Animal death
lindsayvale'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
3.75
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Animal death
abbiemurphy'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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Moderate: Death and Animal death
Minor: Terminal illness
kamrynkoble's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I struggled between being annoyed with the main character and wanting to give her a hug. A lot of the commentary in this one is too heavy handed, which is often one of my complaints with CoHo books. Maybe teenagers need it.
It’s somehow both extremely quirky and truly sad. I don’t really feel affection toward any of the characters, and the entire plot was them working through their own issues. But it was interesting at the end of the day. Hard to describe how I feel about this one.
If you’re thinking about reading, look up the content warning list. The “steamy” scenes were extremely mild but there’s quite a bit about suicide and depression, amongst other things.
Graphic: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Incest
Minor: Animal death
georgia_smith's review against another edition
3.5
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Incest, and Sexual assault
adellka's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Moderate: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Sexual harassment
saoirse10's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Great book ,a good few plot twists which is always a plus but on many occasions religion has been discriminated against by the characters in this book.Near the end of the book it became quite cringey by the way characters would talk (flirt) with eachother.Apart from the above it was an easy book to get through and I would recommend.
Graphic: Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit
Moderate: Medical content, Cancer, Alcohol, Animal death, Medical trauma, Drug use, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Panic attacks/disorders
computergyaru'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? N/A
5.0
Graphic: Suicide and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Vomit and Incest
reneeschauer's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Suicide attempt and Suicide
Minor: Infidelity, Mental illness, Cancer, and Chronic illness