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gabthebookworm's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Xenophobia, Gore, Vomit, and Homophobia
fireandstars's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
ian_hasumi's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
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? Yes
3.0
kaitlynfolk's review against another edition
5.0
I came for the zombies, I stayed for the friendship. I just really loved this book! I found it so relatable about how friendship and how sometimes friends just drift apart but in the end if someone is your person they will always be your person. I laughed, I cried, I couldn’t put it down!!
jane_kelsey's review against another edition
1.0
I really wanted to like this book, the premise sounded fun, however, I did not expect to dislike so much one of the characters - Julie. I do not understand at all how they have ever been friends as she was awful to him most of the time, unable to face the truth or face the consequences of her actions. I could not stand her POV and the audiobook narrator did not make it any easier to like her either with the tone of voice adopted (maybe she didn't like her either and was annoyed to be stuck with her). Points for the cover!
briaraq's review against another edition
3.0
These characters suck so much. I didn't think Dino was until later but unfortunately he does too
lmskikun's review against another edition
It’s stupid- main characters are fighting all of the time
themermaddie's review against another edition
4.0
godDAMN this was a good book
i didnt love my last shaun david hutchinson book but this one deserves all the stars! the relationships in this book are absolutely stellar, the best of which is obviously dino and july's, which is a good thing bc this is very much the kind of story that hinges on the strength of their relationship.
their friendship and subsequent breakup felt so realistic, it wasn't forced or pointless and both dino and july had such distinct personalities that it just worked. i normally don't love dual povs but this one is a rulebreaker for me, they both had such strong voices and each switching chapter offered some kind of valuable insight that was worth it.
the writing was quirky, the dead not staying dead was fun and handled with good comedic timing. the world felt so fleshed out and realistic despite the temporary zombie status of some, and you know i love a good coming of age allegory. i love grief stories as well and this felt so fresh and different, i love how it was weird and kinda out of focus but still grounded in real feelings and emotions. at the end of the day it's just a story about two friends getting closure in death by telling them they love each other, yknow?
i didnt love my last shaun david hutchinson book but this one deserves all the stars! the relationships in this book are absolutely stellar, the best of which is obviously dino and july's, which is a good thing bc this is very much the kind of story that hinges on the strength of their relationship.
their friendship and subsequent breakup felt so realistic, it wasn't forced or pointless and both dino and july had such distinct personalities that it just worked. i normally don't love dual povs but this one is a rulebreaker for me, they both had such strong voices and each switching chapter offered some kind of valuable insight that was worth it.
the writing was quirky, the dead not staying dead was fun and handled with good comedic timing. the world felt so fleshed out and realistic despite the temporary zombie status of some, and you know i love a good coming of age allegory. i love grief stories as well and this felt so fresh and different, i love how it was weird and kinda out of focus but still grounded in real feelings and emotions. at the end of the day it's just a story about two friends getting closure in death by telling them they love each other, yknow?
gingerbread_void's review against another edition
3.0
So this was on my list of most anticipated books of the year and while I enjoyed it I did find I had several issues with this book.
While I really liked that this was actually different from his previous two books I still felt like I had seen this story before. It is almost exactly the plot to the final season of BBC's Torchwood with the same name and everything. While the show of course focused on the larger scale of the problem and this book focused more on its effect on these two directly it was still way to similar for my liking.
I also hated Dino. I felt like he was really annoying and took everything way to seriously. He was ridiculous about some things for little to no reason at all like he just needed something to complain about. That said I did like July. She was snarky and annoying as well but I could see where some of that hurt was coming from. I also found her character to be more believable as a person (undead person)
I did appreciate some of this books more deep decusions like depression and death and grief. The book did a great job addressing those things in a very real way.
All in all this book was just okay for me. For every good thing I liked there was something that I couldn't stand. I can understand why some people love this book and I will recommend it to a few friends who will like it. This just wasn't really for me...
While I really liked that this was actually different from his previous two books I still felt like I had seen this story before. It is almost exactly the plot to the final season of BBC's Torchwood with the same name and everything. While the show of course focused on the larger scale of the problem and this book focused more on its effect on these two directly it was still way to similar for my liking.
I also hated Dino. I felt like he was really annoying and took everything way to seriously. He was ridiculous about some things for little to no reason at all like he just needed something to complain about. That said I did like July. She was snarky and annoying as well but I could see where some of that hurt was coming from. I also found her character to be more believable as a person (undead person)
I did appreciate some of this books more deep decusions like depression and death and grief. The book did a great job addressing those things in a very real way.
All in all this book was just okay for me. For every good thing I liked there was something that I couldn't stand. I can understand why some people love this book and I will recommend it to a few friends who will like it. This just wasn't really for me...
ameserole's review against another edition
3.0
Okay, so a lot happened in this book and I'm still not even sure how I truly feel about it all. It was a hot mess but had some entertaining moments.
In The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, you will meet Dino and July. They used to be pretty good best friends until some things were said and done. Before things could be good between them again, July has an untimely death. Well, she did.. for a hot second.
Now she's dead and they are hanging out together because for some reason July doesn't think she is actually dying. Not really a zombie but food just seems disgusting to her. Plus she smells like death too. Dino is trying to figure out what is going on and why she just wont die. Along the way, they sort of rebuild their friendship and end up doing a goodbye at the end.
Honestly, I liked Dino a lot more than July. She just seemed really self-centered and made jokes about things she really didn't need to mention about. I really liked how Dino's friends said some serious stuff about it because it made her think about what she said. Now this was a huge lightbulb moment for her because it made her realize that she did overstep when it came to the LGBTG+ community.
Other than that, it was an okay book. I did kind of zone in and out throughout the book. It had potentially to be really great but ended up in the okay area for me. Glad I finally knocked it off my TBR though.
In The Past and Other Things That Should Stay Buried, you will meet Dino and July. They used to be pretty good best friends until some things were said and done. Before things could be good between them again, July has an untimely death. Well, she did.. for a hot second.
Now she's dead and they are hanging out together because for some reason July doesn't think she is actually dying. Not really a zombie but food just seems disgusting to her. Plus she smells like death too. Dino is trying to figure out what is going on and why she just wont die. Along the way, they sort of rebuild their friendship and end up doing a goodbye at the end.
Honestly, I liked Dino a lot more than July. She just seemed really self-centered and made jokes about things she really didn't need to mention about. I really liked how Dino's friends said some serious stuff about it because it made her think about what she said. Now this was a huge lightbulb moment for her because it made her realize that she did overstep when it came to the LGBTG+ community.
Other than that, it was an okay book. I did kind of zone in and out throughout the book. It had potentially to be really great but ended up in the okay area for me. Glad I finally knocked it off my TBR though.