Reviews

Four Three Two One by Courtney C. Stevens

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taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad fast-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

4.5

Four Three Two One by Courtney Stevens was heavier than I thought it was going to be, but I thought it was really well written. Books that feature heavy topics are often heard to read, but I thought that the trauma of the characters was handled well. The characters felt complex and unique, and I really fell in love with each of them in their own way. I expected that this was going to be a book I had to read slowly, but I didn’t want to put it down either. The story was compelling and so were the characters even outside of the way the trauma shaped them. I think this is one of the better YA books I’ve read regarding this type of heavy content, and I think that it’s well worth people’s time, since it breaks down complex emotions and makes them digestible. Not only is the writing enjoyable, but the pacing and format works perfectly as well. As a side note, this book does also get some bonus points because as an Emerson Alum, it was nice to get a little shoutout, but truly putting that aside, I thought this book was great from cover to cover. If you’re looking for a book that really features growth and healing through a shared traumatic experience, I would definitely give this book a read.

Content Warnings

edshara's review against another edition

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3.0

This one started off a bit rough for me, mainly because the author drops you right into the plot, and it just felt like I was playing catch-up. Once I settled in, I really enjoyed the different characters and their personalities. While I can’t relate to their circumstances, some of their thoughts and feelings were easy to relate to. Though the beginning threw me off a bit the latter half of the novel was really good and really tied every together.

izzys_internet_bookshelf's review against another edition

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1.0

1/5

This week has been so stressful for me I feel like I’ve been reading this book forever. I was excited to read the story at first but the pacing felt so slow and it took almost the whole book to get interesting. I also had to stop reading and go back to the book multiple times because of the anxiety I had while reading it.

cait_aor's review against another edition

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5.0

such a candid story of grief and i just love the interactions between the characters. caroline’s narration was just beautiful also. love

bookishlychar's review against another edition

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5.0

I always love books about a road trip. This was a book about friendship, changing friendships, new friendships and old friendships. Even more it was about releasing guilt and living how you need to. I enjoyed and loved this

renee_bri's review against another edition

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emotional

4.0

michaela_k's review against another edition

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2.5

Very facile and lacking depth, except perhaps for very young readers. Also this simply isn’t how traumatised teenagers act.

merithefish's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective tense fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This has a weird obsession with cheating?? Like the main character kinda cheats on her boyfriend but not really. Idk, there were some other cheating related stuff that I found ridiculous but I liked it enough.

jombienerd's review against another edition

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5.0

This book was sooooo good. Oh my gosh. The emotional journey I went on while reading this book was just amazing. This book helped me through a lot as the characters were healing and I was too. This book will always hold a place in my heart. It's one of those books you read at exactly the right time in your life, so I'm going to treasure this story forever. The writing was absolutely phenomenal. The actual events of the bombing were revealed in bits and pieces and I understand why it was now. The end of the book clarified a lot of the missing events and everything made sense at the end. I realized then that the frustratingly slow reveal of previous events in the plot was important to the story as a whole. This book is really underrated. It really deserves more attention. I can't wait to read more of Courtney Stevens' works! I'm so glad I picked this up at my library.

annabec's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.25

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