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payson'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? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Violence, Chronic illness, Confinement, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Death of parent, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, Child death, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical content, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Drug use, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Gore, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit
kalynnar'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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Rape, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Body horror, Blood, Torture, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, Violence, Death, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide attempt, Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Stalking
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death of parent, Vomit, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Infidelity, Eating disorder, Abandonment, Addiction, Ableism, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Dementia, Domestic abuse, Car accident, Death, and Drug use
theverycraftyvegan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Hanya Yanagihara is an immensely talented author. This book is beautifully written, and you will feel strong emotions about all the characters, be it love or hate. Unfortunately, that means the ones you love will also break your heart, over and over and over.
The story follows four friends from college and the people they meet along the way—the things they’ve lived through, their successes, their struggles, the things they can’t overcome. Please take care of yourself while reading this book and know that you are loved.
Graphic: Abandonment, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Sexual content, Bullying, Car accident, Pedophilia, Self harm, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Mental illness, Body horror, Chronic illness, Fire/Fire injury, Medical content, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Medical trauma, Suicide, Rape, Violence, Ableism, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Death, Kidnapping, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit
Moderate: Cursing and Infidelity
clovetra'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? Yes
5.0
i originally debated over whether i was gonna give this 5-stars or 4-stars but honestly the sheer ability for this book to make me cry 7 different times is enough to make it a 5-star. i barely cry whilst consuming media as my autistic brain is able to differentiate this shit is not real therefore its not sad!!! but i could not with this book. so much crying. even some happy tears which is nuts because ive only done that with one other book (The Lesbiana's Guide to Catholic School). the way i became so attached to all these characters made me so emotional in every aspect. like the fact i was already beginning to cry in part III when the horrors of part IV & part VI were yet to come.... beautiful.
the only reason i was thinking this was a 4-star book was because god... jude sometimes is so annoying. it feels so wrong writing that because hes literally my baby girl but. QUEEN PLEASE LET URSELF BE LOVED!!!! thats the part that was grating. i know its realistic tho, so tbh im not mad at it. jude repeating that he is unloveable, disgusting, etc. is essential to his character, so from purely a reader's perspective i fucking hated it, but as someone who thinks this book will stick with them for the rest of their life, oh it was necessary.
also who tf decides to give a 4-star review for a 737 page book they read in 2-weeks???? thats fucking nuts even for me.
the amount of times i had to resist googling fanart of willem & jude, or just jude in general was so fucking hard. ive never had this deep of a yearning for literal words.
also this book made me feel. tbh im kinda desensitised to gore & horror and general Bad Things in books. like at 9y/o i was on r/5050 and other shit my ass shouldn't have seen. but some scenes made me viscerally nauseous, or genuinely have to put the book down and stare into space for a bit. yet again only one book has achieved this feat (Earthlings), but even then that book just fucked me up for one part. this book fucked me up at every corner. every page turn.
literally i decided to watch a horror movie last night (abigail, 2024, for anyone curious) and usually im good with gore. most of my special interests are all horror-related (danganronpa, fnaf, until dawn, etc.). because of this book i actually was gagging & had to close my eyes at many points WHILST WATCHING A MOVIE.
the fact a book can have that big of an effect on me? my insane ass? oh yeah hanya yanagihara solo'd.
i actually dont think i can describe how much this book has changed me. was this book enjoyable? sometimes yes. sometimes it was almost a sick perversion i had to finish it. like yeah i would say in 2024 there are books i have 100% "enjoyed" more. but i think this shit has fundamentally changed me. i dont know how, but i feel like a new man.
i cant believe i dnf'd this in the past (to be fair tho i was 14 years old... yeah this wouldve fucked me up even worse!!!!!)
if you are looking to change ur brain chemistry in the worst yet best way possible this book is for you 👍
Graphic: Chronic illness, Domestic abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Rape, Ableism, Death, Sexual violence, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Trafficking, Violence, Vomit, Medical content, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Suicide, Torture, Sexual assault, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Adult/minor relationship, Blood, and Child abuse
Moderate: Drug use, Toxic friendship, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual content, Slavery, Drug abuse, Infidelity, Car accident, Child death, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer
c_seonjyung's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Toxic relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual violence, Torture, Eating disorder, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Sexual assault, Body horror, Car accident, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Rape, Trafficking, Vomit, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Medical content, Adult/minor relationship, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Dysphoria, Excrement, Medical trauma, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Violence, Sexual harassment, and Slavery
Minor: Infidelity
cinn_vida's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Infidelity, Sexual content, Chronic illness, Classism, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Alcoholism, Blood, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Alcohol, Body horror, Body shaming, Rape, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Terminal illness, Drug use, Dysphoria, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Vomit, Addiction, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Medical content, and Mental illness
k_j_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Rape, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Suicide, Trafficking, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Death, Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, and Self harm
Moderate: Infidelity, Eating disorder, Car accident, Drug abuse, Gaslighting, Medical content, and Addiction
cari_'s review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Domestic abuse, Forced institutionalization, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Grief, Toxic relationship, Suicide attempt, Self harm, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Death, Toxic friendship, Suicide, Rape, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, Drug abuse, and Body shaming
Minor: Medical trauma, Car accident, Death of parent, Infidelity, Abandonment, and Kidnapping
ashlynregan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Vomit, Cursing, Drug use, Terminal illness, Racial slurs, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Bullying, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Mental illness, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Sexual assault, Torture, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Chronic illness, Death, Blood, Car accident, Addiction, Child death, Forced institutionalization, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Medical trauma, Panic attacks/disorders, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Rape, Infidelity, Abandonment, Gore, Medical content, Self harm, and Suicide
violetbentbackwards1036's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Drug use, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Grief, Infidelity, Medical content, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Cancer, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Mental illness, Death, Eating disorder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Alcohol, Drug abuse, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, Pedophilia, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Child death, Outing, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, and Sexual assault