Reviews with content warning for Grief - The Book of Speculation

Really liked the story overall; the main character; exploration of grief, coping, and family dynamics; and the dual timeline/multiple POVs. Although already on the shorter side of a book, I still felt like it dragged in places and sometimes lacked the sense of urgency, despite it being concerned with a countdown to a possible death, and the main goal being preventing the death.

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erinbrenner's review against another edition

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dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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waytoomanybooks's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A magical realism tale that centers around several generations of a circus family. The characters were interesting, but the story kind of loses its way about two-thirds of the way in. It should've been 100 pages shorter to keep the story sharp and concise, and it needed a cleaner ending.

I'm also going to echo another reviewer and say that Simon shouldn't have been the main character. The main character should've been a woman who worried about her family's past and her own future.

It wasn't good, but it wasn't bad. I got for $1.25, so I can't really complain.

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malloryfitz's review against another edition

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Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No

2.0

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