Christina M Lewis

Repetitive- several sentences and descriptions were reused up to three times. Uneventful plotline. An interesting concept that didn’t feel engaged enough with. The flow was a bit janky. Difficult to discern between characters as they all spoke the same— felt like they abandoned their personalities after about 60 pages. I did learn something from this book, though. It was an easy read to pass time. I would not recommend it to others.

Repetitive, unmoving plot line. Actively bums me out. Once I bit off about eighty pages I ran out of steam. I don't like to start and not finish but this book made me sleepy. Next

I read to page 382. The characters started off being well written, a story about friendship that kept me engaged until the focus shifted to the relentless trauma of one of the characters. Also, at a point, the themes became unrealistic. A character whose friends bond to him out of pity? Fascination? Pure circumstance? And continue until, inexplicably, they drift. Malcolm was the least detailed person in the book. I enjoyed the plots between the characters. I was disappointed to see it become all about Jude. I stopped reading after the domestic violence situation because the situation itself became unbelievable-- the reasonings for the bruises, the dialogue between characters, the behavior of the individuals. This book feels sadistic in all the wrong ways. Yes there is point, yes there is some literary indulgence, however there was no balance to positively weigh it away. As someone who has struggled with self-harm for a majority of my life, the self-harm in this book is also unrealistic--- repetitive. A character with these patterns would have simply committed suicide by page 200. There is no climax past the self harm, no confrontation of it, no solution and no resolve. If the character was not committing suicide, there was not some philosophy as to why, or undercurrent of dialogue that would suggest they are alive because of their friendships (what this book was advertised to be about). The perspectives of trauma and self-harm are so bleak in this book that I actively started covering my scars, and it placed ideas in my head about how people could be perceiving me. As an author, you have a responsibility to be meaningful, mindful, and write with intention on topics like these. I don't feel the author did that after a point. 2 stars. I wish I could finish. The unrealistic presentation of trauma and self harm keeps me away. The original concept was beautiful and poignant. You can skip a few pages and find that one of the character's closest friends have sex with him. Where's the magic of friendship in that?