Reviews with content warning for Alcohol - Thirsty

This very quickly turns from a light story of a teenage girl having a fun and idyllic summer with her best friend and girlfriend, to a dark narrative of deep seeded self hatred and insecurity in the world (also fun, right?) I love an unlikable narrator, but i can’t entirely say she was unlikeable, I just think she’s human. I did want to hug (or smack) some sense into her, but that’s entirely the point. As someone who has a healthy relationship with my friends, family, partner, and alcohol, I never found myself truly judging Blake, just rooting for her. Hammonds does a wonderful job of reminding us just how flawed and complex and ultimately wonderful humans are, and how it’s okay to not be okay, to need help, to rely on those around have your best interest at heart.

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ukponge's review

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

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featherinthewind's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

5.0

First of all, amazing. This book deals with so much and it is centered around drinking and the complexity of relationships, and as someone who wanted to self destruct all the time as a teenager because of unstable coping mechanisms, I loved this book.

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erindrose's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-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? Yes

4.25

Truly a powerful story, check trigger warnings but I would suggest picking this up if you or anyone in your life has struggled with addiction, it's a truly honest take on it in my personal opinion

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bitesizedbeet's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

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otakatoe3's review

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adventurous challenging reflective sad 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? Yes

3.5

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caseythereader's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

Thanks to Macmillan for the free copy of this book.

- It feels sort of cliche these days to call a YA novel “important,” but THIRSTY really is. It tackles not only drinking, but also race, class, and more.
- I loved the way Blake’s drinking was portrayed in this book. She was drinking socially, drinking to feel like she belonged, drinking to make friends. She didn’t have one huge rock bottom moment, but rather a slow building of moments that finally came into focus for her.
- It’s sometimes a hard read, when Blake and others are making repeated bad choices. But it’s also filled with love and understanding for Blake and her mindset.
- After adoring Hammonds’ WE DESERVE MONUMENTS and now THIRSTY, they’re an autobuy author for me now. Can’t wait to see what’s next.

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