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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
haleysversion'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: Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
3arth2kaye's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Outing, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Death, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Pregnancy
emily_mh'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Outing, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
Major: three uses of the n-slur, eugenics Moderate: imprisoned loved one, capital punishment Minor: disownment, toxic masculinity, texturism, sick loved one, suicidal ideation, disordered eatingtheuncannydani'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
4.25
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Confinement, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Drug abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical trauma, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
simbarabbit20'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: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Car accident and Outing
Minor: Suicide attempt, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
kdailyreads'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Cursing, Grief, and Abandonment
Minor: Slavery, Terminal illness, Vomit, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, and Pregnancy
bookishchef'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
4.25
I kept assuming it was either Jamie, Jack or Belle (in that order from most likely to least). So when the answer turned out to be "yes, and also all of the other characters", I was shook.
I really enjoyed the ride though, even though I thought the final plottwist
There are also still some things that puzzle me:
1. Was Scotty in on it too? If so, he's a damn good actor if he convinced both Devon and Chiamaka that he didn't do it. His storyline got dropped halfway through the book so we never really got a resolution there.
2. What happened to Belle? She told Chiamaka what was happening and I don't assume that her family took kindly to that.
3. How did Devon end up the way he did? We get a little bit of an answer to that in the prologue, which shows that he's living with Terell and his mother but... How? He obviously wasn't getting into Juilliard and he dropped out. Yet the epilogue letter calls him "professor". So what did he do? How did he manage?
4. What happened to Andre? Is he still serving time? Am I not supposed to care?
5. Why did Devon's mom hide his father's death from him? It is said in the epilogue that Devon and his mother weren't on speaking terms for a while after he confronted her... And then what? How did that conversation go? This subplot feels unfinished now.
6. Was Peter the Hacker in on it too? If so, why did he help Chiamaka by revealing what pc the messages were send from? Why did he ask her to put in a good word for him with Belle if he knew Belle's family was in on it too?
And if he wasn't in on it, how did Aces expect the black students to not (accidentally) ask one of the students that wasn't in Aces for help?
I also have a minor headcanon/conspiracy:
We're told by a news anchor that the fire that burns down Niveus was caused by electrical issues. Which seems fair because those issues were mentioned many times before.
Only I thought those issues were just Aces manipulating the cameras, etc. With how it was set up, I assumed Jamie burned down the library. He was set up as a pyromaniac early on, and then threatened Chiamaka with his lighter. So, when she left him, angry and alone, in the library with his lighter, I assumed he was the cause of the fire.
Which he may still have been. After all, the book tells the reader many times that the media covers up white crimes all the time. But Jamie, according to the news broadcast, died in the fire. So that would mean he burned down the school without giving himself an escape? Or was he really that upset about being attracted to/friends with a black girl? I guess we'll never know. So, headcanon land it is.
Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Car accident, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Police brutality, Murder, and Pregnancy
The N word is used once.spooderman'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: Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Alcoholism, Biphobia, Confinement, Drug abuse, Drug use, Infidelity, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Police brutality, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Eating disorder and Pregnancy
hyliansee's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Stalking, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Classism
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail