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hayley_cook2's review
This book is terrible. I really expected more from the writer of the book thief. The writing itself is really bad and the story also sucks. The narrator is super creepy and only describes women physically. He even creeps on a 15 year old girl and Mark Zusak paints it as a good thing. I literally cannot keep reading past the part where he lures the whole town to church.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Misogyny, and Gun violence
mikki_9's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
slow-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
3.5
At first I did not really enjoy this book, but the writing’s great, and, against my will, I really started liking the characters. In the end, I loved this story and the characters.
The reason for 3.5 is because the author uses awful descriptors for people of colour, and the main character’s attraction to a friend is written really creep-ily at times. There’s also villainization of fatness a couple times and a weird sexualization/infantilization of most women/girls in this story. Also, at one point they misgender a man, calling him Mimi, saying he looks like a woman.
Maybe those things didn’t bring down my rating as much as they normally would’ve because the character acknowledges his… lack? And because he experiences a lot of character development? Idk.
The reason for 3.5 is because the author uses awful descriptors for people of colour, and the main character’s attraction to a friend is written really creep-ily at times. There’s also villainization of fatness a couple times and a weird sexualization/infantilization of most women/girls in this story. Also, at one point they misgender a man, calling him Mimi, saying he looks like a woman.
Maybe those things didn’t bring down my rating as much as they normally would’ve because the character acknowledges his… lack? And because he experiences a lot of character development? Idk.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Transphobia, Violence, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Stalking
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Body shaming, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Grief, Toxic relationship, Blood, and Rape
readtheroomjess's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
hopeful
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
I have such mixed feelings about this book. I really like the premise, although it does feel very familiar. There were some really funny moments and genuinely heartfelt moments, but there were also times it veered into very corny territory and I found myself rolling my eyes. My biggest issue is how problematic Ed is as a protagonist. His pining for Audrey is some real MPDG nonsense, and his brief attraction to young Sophie (only 14 years old) is gross. I’d say this book hasn’t aged well, but it wasn’t ok then either.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexism, Child abuse, and Domestic abuse
Minor: Fatphobia
sunflowersarepretty's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Violence, Toxic relationship, Stalking, Sexual violence, Sexism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, and Misogyny
Moderate: Dementia
Minor: Alcohol, Body shaming, and Death of parent
notreallyregan's review
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.25
This review is going to be a rollercoaster ride and will contain some spoilers. This is one of the lowest ratings I have ever given a novel in my life. I wasn't expecting this to be anything like The Book Thief. I went into it with an open-mind. In short, I hated this book.
I just did not care about anything that was supposed to be emotional. It didn’t work. This book was a flop in my eyes.
Live footage of me the whole time I was dragging myself through this book: 😐😐
Were all of the characters meant to be so unlikable? Everyone is greasy. The men are disgusting and oversexualize everything the women do. Ed claims to have strong feelings for Audrey but he views her as a sexual object more than anything else. His descriptions of his mother are disrespectful. He is 19, but sexualizes a literal 14 year old girl. It's repulsive. The women in this novel are treated like sexual objects. That being said, I think every character in the novel is flat and boring! Ed is awful. He's so uninteresting and has no complexity. No wonder his mom hates him. His friends are greasy. The banter is not funny. The dialogue is not funny at all. If some of the crude parts are meant to add something, it was lost on me. The fucking dog is the best character.
I had a hard time finishing this novel because it was not even a little engaging. The opening scene was awesome. There were sprinkles of intrigue throughout the novel, but it did not hold my attention. Trust me, I'm not hard to please. I'm just looking for a good time but this book was gross AND boring! I am finished with it and hardly understand the concept because it was done poorly. The entire thing felt cheap.
If I were Ed, you can bet your ass I would not have done 95% of the things he did. He stalked people. He was creepy. His moral compass was so questionable even though he developed a savior complex through his mission. He came to conclusions that no one else except the author who knows the fucking plot could have come to. The people on the receiving end of Ed's messengers were so calm with a strange man stalking them and loitering. No one would actually react that way. A girl like Sophie would have been terrified of him and likely avoided him. If someone came to my house for no reason and said, "I don't know why I'm here yet but I have a purpose," I would laugh in their face and tell them to get the hell out of my home. I would call the police if I caught someone watching me. Unless stalking is more socially acceptable in Australia . . . yeah, no. I'm still giving Bridge of Clay a chance with an open mind, but this is probably the worst and most forgettable book I have ever read. And I'm being nice.
I just did not care about anything that was supposed to be emotional. It didn’t work. This book was a flop in my eyes.
Live footage of me the whole time I was dragging myself through this book: 😐😐
Were all of the characters meant to be so unlikable? Everyone is greasy. The men are disgusting and oversexualize everything the women do. Ed claims to have strong feelings for Audrey but he views her as a sexual object more than anything else. His descriptions of his mother are disrespectful. He is 19, but sexualizes a literal 14 year old girl. It's repulsive. The women in this novel are treated like sexual objects. That being said, I think every character in the novel is flat and boring! Ed is awful. He's so uninteresting and has no complexity. No wonder his mom hates him. His friends are greasy. The banter is not funny. The dialogue is not funny at all. If some of the crude parts are meant to add something, it was lost on me. The fucking dog is the best character.
I had a hard time finishing this novel because it was not even a little engaging. The opening scene was awesome. There were sprinkles of intrigue throughout the novel, but it did not hold my attention. Trust me, I'm not hard to please. I'm just looking for a good time but this book was gross AND boring! I am finished with it and hardly understand the concept because it was done poorly. The entire thing felt cheap.
If I were Ed, you can bet your ass I would not have done 95% of the things he did. He stalked people. He was creepy. His moral compass was so questionable even though he developed a savior complex through his mission. He came to conclusions that no one else except the author who knows the fucking plot could have come to. The people on the receiving end of Ed's messengers were so calm with a strange man stalking them and loitering. No one would actually react that way. A girl like Sophie would have been terrified of him and likely avoided him. If someone came to my house for no reason and said, "I don't know why I'm here yet but I have a purpose," I would laugh in their face and tell them to get the hell out of my home. I would call the police if I caught someone watching me. Unless stalking is more socially acceptable in Australia . . . yeah, no. I'm still giving Bridge of Clay a chance with an open mind, but this is probably the worst and most forgettable book I have ever read. And I'm being nice.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death of parent, Dementia, Domestic abuse, and Emotional abuse
latsin's review
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
fast-paced
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Although the story is so so interesting and suspenseful and you want to keep reading it because the pace is so fast you don't want to put the book down, the thing that would most often jar me out of the story was the excessive comments objectifying women. You can find yourself gripped by the emotions of the story and feeling good about humanity ant then the main character will add an unnecessary sexist or objectifying comment and it honestly made me want to throw the book against the wall several times. I think the story would have done much better without, and I don't know if it was the author trying to write the character (the character is like that) or just the author projecting his views on the character (the author is like that). This book suffers from a terrible case of "Men writing women".
Content Warnings
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual assault, Ableism, Rape, Violence, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Gun violence, Domestic abuse, and Alcoholism
Minor: Fatphobia
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