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princess19's review against another edition
Graphic: Racism
Minor: Sexism, Sexual assault, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
merlinagarance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Death, Slavery, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment
readingwithkaitlyn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Drug abuse, Infidelity, Stalking, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Alcohol
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Child abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Excrement, Vomit, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Abandonment
rizky'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? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Violence, Police brutality, and Gaslighting
brynalexa's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
This story is very Pretty Little Liars meets Get Out and I fear that if you aren’t a fan of both of those, you might not get through the book.
While the overall twist was quite predictable, the smaller twists and endings weren’t so it didn’t completely set me off. What did put me off a bit was the absolutely ridiculous choices the characters make…
Also, gay! 😍
Graphic: Bullying, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Death of parent
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Blood, Vomit, Police brutality, Grief, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
emsavors'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: Biphobia, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mostlykenny'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? No
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Slavery, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Classism
Minor: Suicidal thoughts and Suicide attempt
eihdlidhd's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
but also goddamn the two main characters go through absolute hell and back (like legitimately. not to be taken lightly at all. several reviews have described the book as Black trauma p*rn soooooo yeah proceed at your own risk). and like, yes, i get that was probably done to really emphasize the gory, sinister nature of institutionalized racism but also neither chiamaka nor devon really saw any joy in the book? every possible horrible thing that could've happened to them did (apart from being flat-out ly*ched, and still chiamaka came very close). needless to say, they are most definitely traumatized for life after this book. which the book doesn't exactly address. and probably never intended to, given the time skip at the end. however, even during the book it is revealed that devon especially went through some horrific shit as a kid, and the PTSD/trauma response isn't really gone over aside from a brief subplot where he mentions not remembering middle school much due to the extreme violence he endured via being bullied.
overall, the book would've probably done better by being longer. i wished devon and chiamaka's friendship got more screentime, and i kinda wish devon got more closure with jack? maybe that was the point though. devon doesn't owe jack any more of his time, and there's no way in hell that they'd be friends again. i think the main thing i wish is that we got to see more of devon and jack's friendship before jack started distancing himself. because really all we were told is when devon mentions at the beginning that jack is the one person at school he'd call a friend since they'd known each other since they were kids and had a similar class background (both were scholarship kids at their private school). then devon reveals how jack has been treating him different since he came out at the end of middle school so we are led to believe (for at least the beginning part) that jack is just homophobic. then it turns out he was an active white supremacist and all of a sudden devon starts saying that jack was his best friend and talks about how much he loved him. which tbf maybe it was intentional that it took him this long to open up to the reader in his narration since most of his friendship with jack seemed to have developed during the period that was trauma blocked in devon's memory. i cared about jack because he reminded me of my family, but there wasn't much in the actual narrative to make me care about him/devon's friendship with him. so the confrontation at the end didn't hit as much as i think it was supposed to.
overall decent read, would recommend for the messages/themes.
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Mental illness, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Gaslighting
Minor: Sexual content and Police brutality
sweetrosegirl76's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Audio book narrator for Devon spoke VERY slow I had to listen to this book at like 1.90-1.95 speed. Sometimes I'd slow for Chiamaka's narrator. Sped up, they were both great but even at 1.5 which is my usual I felt like I was taking foreverrrrr
Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, and Police brutality
Moderate: Child abuse
daniellekat's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Stalking, Car accident, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Gun violence, Sexism, Sexual content, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent