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knittingtipsy'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
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Classism
booksthatburn'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
Ash and Darian genuinely work well together, I love how their relationship develops. Ash is just as much of an asshole by the end of the book as the start, but he's more sure of himself and more willing to take risks for Darian than it seems like he was for his other friends. Due to his high anxiety, "taking risks" includes, in this case, going to the store, spending the night in the same bed, and being emotionally vulnerable. Neither of them are people it's necessarily easy to be around (Ash moreso than Darian), and that shows up in many different ways.
The ending caught me off guard, especially the incident which precedes it. I was pleasantly surprised by how things end up, but the story lingers in an uncomfortable situation for far longer than I can normally handle reading. Part of what helped is the way the narrative had handled anxiety and tension up until that point, I had built up enough trust in the author that I was able to wait for how things shook out.
Graphic: Sexual content, Ableism, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Mental illness, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Infidelity, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Grief, Fatphobia, Abandonment, Forced institutionalization, Biphobia, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Suicide, Medical content, Death of parent, Death, Suicide attempt, and Medical trauma
galleytrot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Sexual content and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Classism, Grief, Mental illness, Biphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic friendship, Alcohol, and Cursing
Minor: Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Suicide, Abandonment, Death, Fatphobia, Suicide attempt, Drug use, Infidelity, Self harm, Toxic relationship, and Eating disorder
heckingchonk'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
4.75
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts and Mental illness
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Outing, Classism, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Self harm, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, and Homophobia
zarahzoe's review against another edition
1.75
Alexis tends to be quite hit or miss for me, but the hits hit so high that I sometimes have to endure the misses, but... Uhm. Was this ever a miss.
Graphic: Body shaming, Classism, Suicidal thoughts, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Outing, Toxic friendship, and Self harm
Minor: Fatphobia
adrienanthony'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: Self harm, Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Ableism, Classism, Fatphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Grief, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Body shaming, Cursing, and Biphobia
o3tri's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Addiction, Mental illness, Suicidal thoughts, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Classism, and Body shaming
leaf_arrow's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Classism, Self harm, and Mental illness
analenegrace's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
I've read most of his books at this point, and I genuinely don't know if I ever come out of them having loved them, but I also keep wanting to read anything he writes. When I saw this, his earliest book, was getting an expanded rerelease, I figured I'd pick it up; It was so very Alexis Hall in a way I think I've grown to appreciate even though they are very, very wild books to read.
Plot and character-wise, this was sad, hopeful, and kind of lovely. The writing of the Essex accent really had me laughing because it reminded me of reading Harry Styles fanfic in like 2014, I guess, which is when this book was first written...
Lastly, the religious references and comparison were hilarious, and the part where he compared "being a bit mean at a wedding" to Peter denying Jesus Christ had me actually laughing at my desk.
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, Sexual content, Alcohol, Biphobia, Cursing, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Forced institutionalization and Fatphobia
jencolumb0's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
As a Hall fan who read Boyfriend Material first, I thoroughly enjoyed the annotations to/extras included in this edition. Though they occupy different worlds, it was fun to see thee bits of Luc and Oliver rooted in Glitterland. Definitely a worthwhile read on multiple levels.
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Suicide, Mental illness, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Toxic friendship and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Forced institutionalization, Classism, Alcohol, Biphobia, Drug abuse, Homophobia, and Medical trauma