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Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Jeden dzień by David Nicholls

59 reviews

oceanwriter's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

3.0

This book hadn’t been on my radar at all but it came up as a suggestion when playing around with ChatGPT when I asked for books similar to the movie The Girl in the Cafe. It also fit in for a reading challenge prompt for a book suggested by a random generator, so I picked it up right away. 
 
Dex and Emma spent a day together in 1988. They never left each other’s minds. That date becomes the focal point of decades of love, loss, mistakes, successes, and growing up. 
 
I was hooked at the very start of the book but my interest fizzled out quickly. I didn’t connect to the characters at all which made for a less enjoyable reading experience. Took away some great quotes though, so I’m glad I stuck with it. 
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abbruzzese's review against another edition

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emotional funny lighthearted reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

     "I suppose the important thing is to make some sort of difference," she said. "You know, actually change something."
     "What, like 'change the world', you mean?"
     "Not the whole world. Just the little bit around you."

I LOVED THIS. like omg. such a fun plot premise, great pacing, lovable main characters. i find that a lot of romance books have a couple in which one of them is the love of my life and the other is the most annoying person i've ever encountered, but dexter and emma were very well balanced, both to each other and with themselves. 

the only part i didn't like was the ending.
it was not happy at all, which is what i was expecting. it was very jarring and seemed to come out of nowhere, for no reason. i suppose nicholls wrote it for the purpose of furthering dexter's character development, but there are lots of other ways to do that instead of killing off emma so randomly. don't get me wrong, i'm glad i read this and i enjoyed it immensely, but i can't say i would have devoured it (or even picked it up at all) had i known that the "happily ever after" the entire book was taking us towards just...doesn't happen.
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katharina90's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad medium-paced
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

I first read this novel shortly after the movie came out in 2011. I always preferred the movie, and rereading the book in 2024 (because there's a new adaptation on Netflix) I like it even less. But I'll leave it at 3 stars for nostalgia's sake.

Aside from everything that hasn't aged well, like the raging fatphobia, the characters are just so unlikeable and immature. 
Because we're only shown snapshots over the course of 20 years, more often than not we see Em and Dex at their worst which makes it difficult to root for them.

The ending is deeply unsatisfying.
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jolineliest's review against another edition

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emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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anewton's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

A clever, beautifully moving book, with characters who become your close friends. A highly engaging read, that makes you hungry for more, with a plot that is far from clique. 
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megnzhang's review against another edition

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emotional funny sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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chaiteasophia's review against another edition

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emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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thequiltyreader's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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daisymayl's review against another edition

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funny reflective fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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haleylooloo's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced
  • 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

3.5

Despite the cover being a couple kissing, I would not consider this a romance. I will admit, I had seen the movie before reading the book so knew what to expect,
but the book focused much less on the romance between the main characters and much more on their personal development. I appreciated the depictions of feeling lost and unsure what life or the future may hold, and I felt I could relate to Emma a lot. That being said, I got a bit annoyed at how long it took for them to finally get together (348 pages!), then only to have it all end 40 pages later. I also thought the ending was interesting but the whole last section was just a bit tedious to get through, especially the anniversary sections with Dex. Overall, Dex’s sections during his drug use eras were a bit drawn out at times.
A good story though and I liked the premise of writing on the same day every year. There were definitely a couple of easter eggs left at the end that I would be interested to see if they were actually thought out earlier in the book, maybe I’ll go back and look. 
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