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star1412's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
The carnival in this book is kinda like a more malicious version of Infinity Train. It focuses on the character's traumas and insecurities, and forces out main character to work through them.
I love this carnival as a setting. It's wonderfully creepy and a lot of fun to read about.
As someone who's dealt with a lot if my own mental health problems, and done a lot of research about mental health, I feel like that aspect if this story also works really well. The only problem I have with it is that autism isn't something you can just grow out of like Blake seems to think. But that's just nitpicking. Everything else made a lot of sense. I understand that the mental health discussion might put a lot of people off for this book, but to me it's what made it work.
I love this carnival as a setting. It's wonderfully creepy and a lot of fun to read about.
As someone who's dealt with a lot if my own mental health problems, and done a lot of research about mental health, I feel like that aspect if this story also works really well. The only problem I have with it is that autism isn't something you can just grow out of like Blake seems to think. But that's just nitpicking. Everything else made a lot of sense. I understand that the mental health discussion might put a lot of people off for this book, but to me it's what made it work.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts and Body horror
aloeverra's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
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? It's complicated
4.5
The book was a little slow to start out, but there was so much depth in the middle of the book. The idea that we trap ourselves in our own fear and how self doubt compounds into a life consuming monster were a few of the themes explored. We also see one of the characters suffering from manic depression, a mental health issue rarely shown in books. This was an absolute gem from Shusterman's early novels.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts
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