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venetiana's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
(One thing I found really infuriating: the book shoving the school motto down my throat every few pages - I would definitely have remembered with much, MUCH fewer mentions, too. 🙃)
Graphic: Murder and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Alcohol, Blood, Suicidal thoughts, Addiction, Classism, Death, and Emotional abuse
Minor: Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual harassment, Child death, Drug use, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Toxic relationship
starlightloving's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
The pace was extremely quick, which I really loved. It made it easy to fly through the story, even when I’m normally an extremely slow reader. I also really enjoyed the supporting/expanding flashback chapters, I think they really added to the story. The Tip Tap confessions were also amusing and helped give dimension to unnamed classmates, building the student body’s details and struggles without taking away from the main characters. They were also a nice bit of outsider POV, which I always love.
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Murder
Minor: Suicide and Death
anniereads221's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic friendship, and Violence
beca_reads's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Racism, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
bitesizedbeet's review against another edition
2.5
Moderate: Abandonment, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, and Murder
jjs1001's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Drug use, and Death
Minor: Child abuse and Alcohol
sarah984's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The main characters are a group of Asian American students at an exclusive private school, brought together through a mutual friendship of sorts with a popular girl and through what the pov character refers to as "The Incident": something that they had all participated in two years before and sworn to secrecy about. It's obvious what the thing was and the way the narrative dances around it is annoying. The popular girl dies suddenly, and suddenly the friends are being threatened via social media using secrets only the dead girl knew. The resolution to this is ridiculous and some of the secrets are a bit silly.
The better part of the story is the focus on the characters themselves, especially Nancy. As the daughter of immigrants who gave up everything to come to America there is immense pressure to perform, be strong, and reach that elusive American Dream. The way this plays out in Nancy's relationship with her mother was really well done. The other characters are less three dimensional but do illustrate this in various ways.
I liked the ending in the way that it demonstrated who Nancy was at her core - this isn't a game but she's going to win it - but it bugged me that the reader never gets to find out what the big secret is.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Abandonment
Minor: Blood, Grief, Medical content, Physical abuse, and Racism
racheldkidder's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Toxic friendship, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Addiction, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, and Racism
Minor: Fire/Fire injury
alyxinthestars's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Moderate: Murder, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Adult/minor relationship, and Death
Minor: Suicide, Abandonment, Child abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
caidyn's review
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Death, Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, and Toxic friendship