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roseleaf24's review
challenging
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
This is a great collection of weird short stories. I liked some more than others, but I would say they're all equally well-done. They're very different from each other, though, and they probably won't all be to anyone's taste. I like that this was given the Printz award this year; I hope it serves to elevate some authors who have not yet been acknowledged as much as they are due.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Domestic abuse, Dementia, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Bullying, Pandemic/Epidemic, Blood, Child abuse, Transphobia, Toxic friendship, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
betweentheshelves's review
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- 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? It's complicated
3.5
Not going to lie, I'm still kind of surprised that this won the Printz this year. Overall, it's not a bad collection of stories, and the overall themes of the stories I think will resonate with some teens. But I've said it before and I'll say it again: I don't think the majority of teens pick up short story anthologies. There have been more and more of them coming out in recent years, and sure, some teens might pick it up if they see their favorite author's name on the cover. But as a whole, I don't think teens are gravitating towards these particular books.
Anyway! There are some great stories in here, which isn't surprising since it's a pretty heavy hitting cast of authors. MT Anderson's was probably the darkest, Jason Reynolds' might have been my favorite. At the end of the day, it's still a short story collection though.
Anyway! There are some great stories in here, which isn't surprising since it's a pretty heavy hitting cast of authors. MT Anderson's was probably the darkest, Jason Reynolds' might have been my favorite. At the end of the day, it's still a short story collection though.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Vomit, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Mental illness, Racism, and Homophobia
Minor: Mass/school shootings, Blood, and Transphobia
irenemarie's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
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
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Death of parent
Moderate: Dementia, Mental illness, Racism, Toxic friendship, Domestic abuse, Bullying, Homophobia, Self harm, Cursing, and Grief
Minor: Transphobia and Mass/school shootings
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