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klandry98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Drug use, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Chronic illness, Homophobia, Rape, Pregnancy, and Pandemic/Epidemic
chasingpages1's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying, Gun violence, Self harm, and Police brutality
danaslitlist'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Instead this is thriller that puts the focus on grief and the many ways it can present itself. Self destruction, the destruction of others, regret, anger, and so much more. And while this is still a suspenseful and tense book I found this to be a much more emotional journey than I had expected. I really appreciated the commentary on victims of violence at the hands of those who have the means to escape justice (whether that is because of their race, financial or social status, or just utter incompetency of the system).
The Collective spends a good portion of itself discussing how the world views these victims in life and in death and how that extends to the surviving members of the victims' families. One of the most powerful and gut punching moments occurs when justice (in theory) is finally attained for one of the main characters and we see how quick the world is ready to reinvent the narrative they spent so long pushing and benefiting from. And how fast everyone is to move on immediately after, how that doesn't sate the feelings of rage and pain that linger for those still wronged.
I really enjoyed our main character, Cam, she's a beautifully flawed (and who wouldn't be given the circumstances) character that I wanted to both shake some sense into while also root for her to keep going. The mysterious supporting cast that names themselves The Collective are equally fascinating and I really love that even in the end we know very little about who they all are and how this system works. Again, the premise is just genius and terrifying. I also appreciate the deviating from the young lover with Luke, I tip my hat to Alison Gaylin for that little twist.
The only reason that I'm removing a star from this book is because of the ending. This is a book that builds up and up, a dam about to break, but instead of a shattering of that dam we get someone poking the wall with a stick to create a leak that completely ruins the spectacle. Now, I'm not saying that we needed to have a guns blazing ending or anything but it was very anti-climatic and that I think it could've been fixed with some little changes. One of those being the pacing; the majority of the book has great pacing however the last 100 pages or so goes by very quickly with a lot of reveals and twists given to you all at once. This didn't quite work out for me the way I think it was intended especially given the reveals we were receiving. They were quite vital for Cam and her character and instead of having any time to ruminate on them we're forced to go, go, go. The other change I would make would be to make the stakes at the end a bit higher. I think the ending is where the author finally played it too safe for me because there was never a question of what decision she would make.
I think a lot of my minor issues have to do with the pacing of the last 100 pages. It’s so fast as if it’s trying to quickly tie things together on a time crunch. I wish we had some more time to focus on the relationships that motivate her decisions at the end.
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Murder
Minor: Homophobia, Mental illness, Racism, and Medical content
sylvestra's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Drug use, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Transphobia, Car accident, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Bullying, Cancer, Gun violence, Hate crime, Infertility, Self harm, Medical content, and Injury/Injury detail