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uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Death, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Cancer, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Pregnancy, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Child death, Homophobia, Rape, Self harm, Vomit, and Classism
jneverland'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? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Suicide, Police brutality, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Miscarriage, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Bullying
bekah445's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence
hettyreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Suicide, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug use, Gore, Infertility, Rape, Grief, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
k8thegr8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Death and Grief
onion's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Grief, Car accident, and Pregnancy
Moderate: Alcoholism, Gun violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Death of parent
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Sexism, and Violence
ladiwallace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Infertility, Miscarriage, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Confinement, Infidelity, and Violence
katsbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
"It's hard being left behind... It's hard to be the one who stays... Why is love intensified by absence?"
I had a lot of feelings about this novel. I originally thought I would give this 4 or 5 stars because when I initially finished reading, the story evoked a lot of emotion for me and I felt so melancholic at the end of the novel. However, now that I've had some time to sit with it, I also have some critiques. First off, I loved the writing. It was emotional and really packed a punch. I also liked the format. The dual perspectives and multiple timelines were interesting but not overly confusing. I also really enjoyed how Henry and Clare's characters were not perfect and I found the fact that their flaws were not downplayed very refreshing. Now a few things of which I wasn't a huge fan. The scenes where older Henry visited young Clare made me cringe. It was very clear that Henry didn't want to cross any lines but every scene just felt a bit like grooming to me. I applaud the author for exploring the implications of that part of the plot but the scenes just didn't quite sit well with me. I also really disliked the representation of some of the side characters. It was written almost 20 years ago but having both Henry and Clare grow up with women of color as pseudo-mother figures felt incredibly tokenistic to me. It felt very much like the author was trying to have some kind of diverse representation but didn't know how to do that authentically. The last thing I really hated was Gomez. His character was the worst! And I still don't really understand what the purpose of his character was to begin with. It really feels like he was just there for me to hate. Overall, this book was just okay for me.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Gore, Infertility, Miscarriage, Sexual content, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Death of parent