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tantrum_books's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Abandonment
Minor: Drug use and Alcohol
rebelbooks101's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
TW: emotional and physical abuse, and infertility
This book follows Ruby who’s been taken by social services to live with her sister and her husband after her mom has abandoned her.
For the most part, I really liked this book. I can’t tell if it’s me feeling burnt out on Sarah Dessen or the reading slump that made this book feel really long to get through.
I really enjoyed the plot and I loved seeing the growth of the protagonist throughout the story. I loved how she started to embrace the loving family she had with her sister and Jamie. I really enjoyed the individual dynamics that they had with her. I also loved the friendship she started to develop with one of her classmates as well.
While I really enjoyed the first half, the second half is where it fell a little flat for me. While I understand the ending, I can’t say it was necessarily how I wanted the story to wrap up. It definitely had both good and bad to it.
Something that fell a little flat with that was the romance between Nate and Ruby. Nate was someone I really loved as a character so I was looking forward to seeing him and Ruby getting together but instead of being this thing that left the reader satisfied, it just sort of happened.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable read that I’m glad to have read but the second half kind of left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
This book follows Ruby who’s been taken by social services to live with her sister and her husband after her mom has abandoned her.
For the most part, I really liked this book. I can’t tell if it’s me feeling burnt out on Sarah Dessen or the reading slump that made this book feel really long to get through.
I really enjoyed the plot and I loved seeing the growth of the protagonist throughout the story. I loved how she started to embrace the loving family she had with her sister and Jamie. I really enjoyed the individual dynamics that they had with her. I also loved the friendship she started to develop with one of her classmates as well.
While I really enjoyed the first half, the second half is where it fell a little flat for me. While I understand the ending, I can’t say it was necessarily how I wanted the story to wrap up. It definitely had both good and bad to it.
Something that fell a little flat with that was the romance between Nate and Ruby. Nate was someone I really loved as a character so I was looking forward to seeing him and Ruby getting together but instead of being this thing that left the reader satisfied, it just sort of happened.
Overall, this was a pretty enjoyable read that I’m glad to have read but the second half kind of left me with a bitter taste in my mouth.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Physical abuse
madflatt's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Physical abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Infertility
kalin_grace's review against another edition
challenging
dark
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, and Abandonment
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Infertility, and Gaslighting
Minor: Cursing and Drug use
katsbooks's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
“It's a lot easier to be lost than found. It's the reason we're always searching and rarely discovered--so many locks not enough keys.”
“What is family? They were the people who claimed you."
This novel followed Dessen's regular formula pretty well. I'm finding I like to read her books in between heavier books. For example, the two books I read before were both horrors and the one I'm reading now (after I've finished) is a thriller. It's a nice change of pace to cleanse my pallete.
Generally, I like how Dessen's novels have love interests but they are not the reason for the character's growth. In this novel, however, it was this underlying theme of "saving" another person and I didn't know how to feel about it. Jamie "saved" Cora and Ruby and Nate "save" each other at different times. I feel like the intention was to touch on the idea that we need other people and it's impossible to be truly independent. That idea resonates with me but I struggle with the idea of needing someone to "fix" your problems. I feel like that line was a little blurry in this novel, especially with Nate and Ruby's plot line.
I did like the conversation around the idea of family and what it really means. I think that's something Dessen does well. All of her books have a family element to them which just makes you feel things. The relationship between Ruby and her sister pulled at my heartstrings.
Trigger warnings for child abuse, addiction and child abandonment.
“What is family? They were the people who claimed you."
This novel followed Dessen's regular formula pretty well. I'm finding I like to read her books in between heavier books. For example, the two books I read before were both horrors and the one I'm reading now (after I've finished) is a thriller. It's a nice change of pace to cleanse my pallete.
Generally, I like how Dessen's novels have love interests but they are not the reason for the character's growth. In this novel, however, it was this underlying theme of "saving" another person and I didn't know how to feel about it. Jamie "saved" Cora and Ruby and Nate "save" each other at different times. I feel like the intention was to touch on the idea that we need other people and it's impossible to be truly independent. That idea resonates with me but I struggle with the idea of needing someone to "fix" your problems. I feel like that line was a little blurry in this novel, especially with Nate and Ruby's plot line.
I did like the conversation around the idea of family and what it really means. I think that's something Dessen does well. All of her books have a family element to them which just makes you feel things. The relationship between Ruby and her sister pulled at my heartstrings.
Trigger warnings for child abuse, addiction and child abandonment.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Grief, and Abandonment