ginnikin's review against another edition
I don't understand how this alphabet soup of queerness with some mental health stuff thrown in, all rooted in the city I grew up in, can leave me feeling kinda meh. Oh well.
caedocyon's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't liking this much until about two thirds of the way through, but somehow by the end I was liking it a lot. It looks like it's going to be yet another book about people being mean to one another for no reason except that's the human condition, doncha know, but then sometimes instead of resenting each other for no reason at all they decide to love each other for no reason at all, and whoops, suddenly you have high literary fiction where people are a bit optimistic about the human condition.
bridie's review against another edition
funny
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Loved this portrait of 20-something friends and lovers. Zoë’s earlier books feel a bit like stepping in a Time Machine. I spent most of my 20s in a different big Canadian city, but so much of it this and of Bottle Rocket Hearts feels familiar to me regardless.
anaiira's review against another edition
3.0
It's like a less strident version of Hanya Yanigihara's "A Little Life". I love the abundance of queer fiction, and I appreciate how it balances the daily exasperation of just living with the exasperation of handling queer issues.
alexture's review
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
I love Zoe Whittall and her messy queers. This goes up in my favourites from this author, alongside The Spectacular.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Infidelity, Car accident, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Vomit, and Death
Minor: Transphobia and Homophobia
trippalli's review
hopeful
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- 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? No
4.5
A moving story of young folks in the mid 20s funding their way in life and love with stressful jobs. Including paramedics, so lots of references and philosophy, and reflection on death. Dying and life's meaning.. Existence, finding lovev and friendships. I especially like the transgender paramedic in this book.
misssusan's review against another edition
3.0
you've heard about people going to and fro on the idea of the category of new adult? i don't know if zoe whittall would classify it this way but holding still for as long as possible is the kind of book i want to see published under that genre. twenty-somethings wandering about! reading this felt like reading ya did when i was a preteen, like my life wasn't entirely like the characters but i could recognize them, they were somewhere i would be soon. it'd be nice to have a genre that could do that for me now
i liked this alot better than i did bottle rocket hearts. i think the emphasis on work just made it work a lot better for me? bottle rocket hearts was so focused on eve and della's relationship and there was just no entry point for me there. like i could accept eve was into della but i really couldn't see why? all i could do was chalk it down to naivete crashing into cool girl lust. and this book has alot of relationship focus but i could understand them better. also i have some strange affinity for breakup narratives, i don't understand but accept this about myself
but as i was saying, work! yes please! i feel like a ton of the stuff published under new adult right now are romances and just. man there's an entire romance category for that, i want to read something that feels relevant to my life. trying to graduate from minimum wage jobs into 'real jobs'! figuring out what exactly your 'career' is going to be! trying to make friends at work and figure out how to interact with your boss! learning how to pay bills and sort out money things! heck, even learning to cook guys, like don't get me wrong i understand relationships being important but there's all this other stuff you handle post school and it would be nice to get to read a book with people like me dealing with it.
so basically all that stuff about josh's job as a paramedic made this book work way better for me. keep it up whittall! 3.5 stars
i liked this alot better than i did bottle rocket hearts. i think the emphasis on work just made it work a lot better for me? bottle rocket hearts was so focused on eve and della's relationship and there was just no entry point for me there. like i could accept eve was into della but i really couldn't see why? all i could do was chalk it down to naivete crashing into cool girl lust. and this book has alot of relationship focus but i could understand them better. also i have some strange affinity for breakup narratives, i don't understand but accept this about myself
but as i was saying, work! yes please! i feel like a ton of the stuff published under new adult right now are romances and just. man there's an entire romance category for that, i want to read something that feels relevant to my life. trying to graduate from minimum wage jobs into 'real jobs'! figuring out what exactly your 'career' is going to be! trying to make friends at work and figure out how to interact with your boss! learning how to pay bills and sort out money things! heck, even learning to cook guys, like don't get me wrong i understand relationships being important but there's all this other stuff you handle post school and it would be nice to get to read a book with people like me dealing with it.
so basically all that stuff about josh's job as a paramedic made this book work way better for me. keep it up whittall! 3.5 stars
themostlovely's review against another edition
3.0
Meh, just something about this book didn't hit my Zoe Whittall average rating. It lacked interest but off to write the next book review!
thunderbolt_kid's review against another edition
3.0
I am so very sick of the "centre of the universe", and although I found it trying that this book seems to demand a familiarity with Toronto geography, the rest of the book was all right (if you happen to know a little about Toronto's layout, it will likely increase your enjoyment of the book). There's a nicely-written trans* character whose experience isn't all about being trans* per se. One of the characters is treated terribly by the author (and depression/anxiety seem somewhat trivialized as a result). Still, an okay read.