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rnbhargava'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
4.25
Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Xenophobia, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
How hard these triggers hit will vary person to person, hence why I put all of them in moderate, not that they were all moderate to me. Nothing kept me from wanting to read the rest of the book. I can’t wait to get to the next 2.dannythestreet's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Police brutality, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Colonisation, and Classism
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Cannibalism, Car accident, and Alcohol
skudiklier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Racism, Violence, Xenophobia, and War
Moderate: Addiction, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Islamophobia, Grief, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Cancer, Genocide, Gun violence, Sexual content, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Colonisation
akblair'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? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Cursing, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Genocide, Antisemitism, Grief, Cultural appropriation, and Colonisation
This is essentially a study of all the different cultures that make up NYC- for better or worse- and it doesn’t shy away from the ugly parts.therainbowshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Transphobia, Violence, Xenophobia, and Police brutality
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Gun violence, Rape, and Grief
Minor: Body horror, Drug use, Genocide, Panic attacks/disorders, Toxic relationship, and Medical content
keen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
As for negatives: sometimes this book got a little too preachy. I will say, I think this may be because the characters of the books are more or less personified concepts, but I don't think that entirely fixes my issue. The issue being that it feels like each character has to preach to the audience about what is good or bad. How calling a woman a "bitch" is sexist, how cutting off a woman is sexist, that racism is bad, that cops are scary, etc. I'm a black trans-masc person and will always appreciate representation, but when the only transgender man in the book is brought in for a few pages, gives some speech about the transphobia he's faced (and later has a small panic that someone found out he's trans), it gets tiring. Sometimes I just want to read a book about diverse characters without needing to be reminded that the world at large hates you.
Secondly, which I can't go into as much detail with, it feels like character development wasn't that focused on in the book. The one who got the most development in my opinion was Staten Island, and unless the sequels expand more on her, she got done the dirtiest. This isn't helped by how sudden the ending is. Everything moves so fast. Conflict sky-rockets, we're thrown into the middle of it, a few pages later, it's over and everything is happy and nice. I suspect this is so the drama the next book brings hits hard, but currently? It's just unsatisfying. I believe a book in a series, or at least the first book of a series, should be strong on its own. It's not fun to read a story, get invested, then be thrown into a brick wall until the author's finishing painting the door, leading into the next story. At least slow me down a little?
Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Police brutality, and Grief
Minor: Addiction and Abortion
kenchingfox's review against another edition
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, and Grief