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holdenreg11's Reviews (128)
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Ahhh! Loved loved loved this one. So reflective while also being very present.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
FOR BOOK CLUB
- Overall, beautiful book and Rooney’s expertise and knowledge of psychology really is at play here
- I had a hard time with the first chapter, Peter’s perspective. I couldn’t understand why it was feeling so heady until getting to Ivan’s first chapter and then I understood
- I really liked Ivan’s character. He felt more mature than Peter, but I think that is due to being the younger sibling and experiencing his brother changing so much, he had opportunities to mature quicker and in different ways
- Peter was hard to understand and was clearly taking the loss harder than Ivan- I found this interesting and relatable given that he wasn’t as close with the father
- I thought that all of the love interests were great characters and had their own experiences to help the brothers get through the first year
- Would’ve liked to learn more about Naomi’s history
- ALEXEI!! So cool
- The final 20- 30 pages were beautiful and I love that the brothers were able to make up
- Would’ve liked one more full chapter for Ivan
- Such an interesting way to lightly touch upon non-monogamy and suicide
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
Honestly, just not feeling it, but would maybe return.
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Solid start to the month!
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Book Club Thoughts
- Initially, I had a hard time following the plot between the different characters, but once I got used to it I could tell that the structure of it highlighted what they were all going through
- I thought that Cryrus’ job was interesting and I could see that it was adding to his fascination with martyrdom and dying
- I really liked his friend Zee and the story of them cleaning that guy’s house- showed what they have gone through together
- I appreciate that he was able to get sober and that that journey wasn’t the main story, but it is understandable why he struggled with addiction
- I would’ve liked more time in NYC! I thought that the story there was fun to read and the sprinkling in of the other characters/dreams were cool
- The plot twist with his mom being queer and alive was cool! Again I would’ve loved more of that before she died
- I didn’t realize that the Flight thing actually happened
- Great book, but didn’t like it as much as I thought
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Beautiful!
dark
funny
informative
fast-paced
While I’ve always known that the modern day GOP is disgustingly corrupt and ineffective, this book gave a great history on how that started. Breaks down the origins of the GOP attacks and why they are still the way they are.
