cdoubet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Pregnancy, Violence, Cursing, Death, Grief, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Police brutality, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Infertility, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Body horror, Medical trauma, Alcohol, Drug use, and Blood
Minor: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence
alysereadsbooks'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
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Police brutality, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, Slavery, Classism, Death, Hate crime, and Genocide
Moderate: Miscarriage, Toxic friendship, and Grief
Minor: Torture and Sexual content
hancaavdic's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
The writing is incredibly flat and dense, and usually I like my books dense but with drive and promise, but with this book it was unbearable. It got to the point where it felt like the reader was constantly being taken out of the flow of the story with unnecessary detail and fluff, only to carry on again. And then it would happen once again; one-two steps forward, constant one step back. Maybe it’s the dual writing that made it feel this way? I’m not sure, all I know is that something just wasn’t hitting the spot.
While the center of the story is heart wrenching and completely inhumane, and one would think that you would be able to feel for the characters, or at least for the situation, however it contrasts with the fact that there really is no emotion from the characters… which is weird and yet again, disappointing. It’s more so telling the emotions, than showing them, and that really bothers me. It makes the characters flat/two dimensional, and leaves little room for improvement and growth. When I read a book I want to be able to relate to the characters in one way or another, even in the slightest, smallest of ways. But I honestly didn’t feel anything for any of them, not even Riley nor Jen/Jenny.
I ended up skimming through the rest of the book when I finally got around to 150/200 pages, and honestly I didn’t see a shift or change of any kind within the story.
The two most important things to me as a reader and lover of books is the literary quality (writing) and characterization, and for me this book didn’t have either of those. It fell through.
I’m just disappointed. This had so much potential.
Graphic: Infertility, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
dizzyizzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Hate crime, Gun violence, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Medical content, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Car accident, Death, Grief, Medical content, and Miscarriage
emilylovesgoodbooks'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
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Child death, Death, Racism, Grief, Hate crime, and Infertility
Moderate: Murder, Miscarriage, Medical trauma, Gun violence, and Police brutality
kmallinson93'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
4.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Murder, Hate crime, Death, Child death, Police brutality, Gun violence, and Racism
briana7's review
- 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
5.0
Moderate: Death, Child death, Miscarriage, Violence, Racial slurs, Hate crime, Murder, Gun violence, Police brutality, Racism, Pregnancy, and Infertility
ramenfuneral'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
3.0
Moderate: Child death, Racism, Pregnancy, Infertility, Hate crime, Gun violence, and Dementia
emilymay_reads'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
3.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Murder, Police brutality, Racism, and Violence
liblibby'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 death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Racism, Pregnancy, and Police brutality
Minor: Miscarriage