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dariusmortee's review
- 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? N/A
4.75
I love how this book is about the survival of a dystopian disaster. How it’s about how it changes people and society and how we sometimes take so incredibly much for granted.
The end did feel a bit rushed. I would have liked some more. It feels a little off how quickly everything is solved in the end. Plus I needed more characters to die. Maybe all of them.
Graphic: Fire/Fire injury and Abandonment
Moderate: Sexual assault, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Death, and Murder
rose34's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Violence, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide attempt, and Suicide
Moderate: Mental illness and Murder
Minor: Child abuse, Terminal illness, Adult/minor relationship, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Rape, Pedophilia, Death of parent, Child death, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual content, Gun violence, Pandemic/Epidemic, Abandonment, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Physical abuse, Sexual violence, and Injury/Injury detail
kshertz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Minor: Abandonment, Physical abuse, Murder, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Death
lilytheravenclaw's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Abandonment, Violence, Death, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical trauma
Minor: Police brutality
bill369's review against another edition
- 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
3.25
My favourite character is Jacqui. She's the typical outcast cool character and from all the characters she was the most fun and relatable. All the characters are forever changed by the end of the book, the character development is there. Despite all this, I didn't grow to love any of the characters and soon or later I will most likely forget them. They aren't undeveloped, but they aren't strong characters either.
On the other hand, the theme of the book is awesome! I enjoyed all the facts and how fast it all happened. It kept me hydrated throughout the whole book! Also, it was quite fascinating to see how quickly people turn on each other in just a matter of days. Desperate times call for desperate measures.
There isn't any line/scene in particular that caught my attention, but there is a term „water-zombie“, strongly dehydrated human, I liked that one.
I like that the ending was clear. It was known what happened to who, therefore I didn't have to wonder for hours to come.
Lastly, there isn't anything I disliked, but the book isn't emotional/deep enough for me to give it more stars. So overall fascinating, fast and dry read which is great for a reading slump.
Moderate: Abandonment and Death
Minor: Pedophilia, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Stalking, and Car accident
kaidoz's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Edit: I’ve realized a few things I’ve missed. There were a few points in the book where characters mentioned how bad communism was which I thought was so strange. It seemed forced and like a political statement when no one even asked for it. Also, the reason I stated that the cast of characters being diverse was complicated is because their personalities are diverse, but they really aren’t. The main girl and her brother are of unidentified origin for like half of the book, and they end up being like, a quarter Jamaican and the rest European. Another female character is also very light-skinned but I honestly couldn’t tell you what she is because it was so forgettable. I think Greek? Roman? The rest were completely white. Also I believe there was a singular mention of one of the male characters not liking men, but other than that gay people didn’t exist. No POC or LGBT people in California? This truly is a fiction novel. Anyways, I still thought the story was great, so I’m not changing my review or anything.
Graphic: Car accident, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Sexism, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Toxic friendship, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Blood, Bullying, Cursing, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Police brutality, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Stalking, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Abandonment, Alcohol, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Trafficking
I will be giving more detail on some of the warnings while withholding as many spoilers as I can. I’ll label them. Car accident (very minor spoilers):