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george_tte's review against another edition
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I couldn't put this book down! It was funny, insightful, raw, and not afraid of taking things too far and showcasing messy as messy.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Infidelity
Minor: Sexual harassment
solenekeleroux's review
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
Moderate: Emotional abuse and Toxic relationship
Minor: Sexual assault
eemilycolleen's review
3.25
fun and funny featuring some good run-on sentences, which i always love. i think for me there was some essential heart missing in much of this? and the pacing feels off, the ending comes too quickly, but maybe that’s a feature not a bug. so not perfect for me but a nice way to spend a couple hours!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Sexual content
caseythereader's review
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
Thanks to Atria Books for the free copy of this book.
- JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM is at turns both hilarious and serious. It gives readers an unflinching look at Eliot's slide into self-hatred as he burns down his entire life piece by piece.
- I wish this book had leaned harder into the satire/absurd elements. It was there, particularly in the scenes at Eliot's job, but I don't think it went far enough.
- There were also a few passages where the main character just flat out stated the lessons learned or parallels drawn between incidents instead of trusting the reader to find it for themselves.
- All that said, I'm here for books about queer people being messy, terrible people. I'm interested to see what O'Connell writes next.
- JUST BY LOOKING AT HIM is at turns both hilarious and serious. It gives readers an unflinching look at Eliot's slide into self-hatred as he burns down his entire life piece by piece.
- I wish this book had leaned harder into the satire/absurd elements. It was there, particularly in the scenes at Eliot's job, but I don't think it went far enough.
- There were also a few passages where the main character just flat out stated the lessons learned or parallels drawn between incidents instead of trusting the reader to find it for themselves.
- All that said, I'm here for books about queer people being messy, terrible people. I'm interested to see what O'Connell writes next.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Sexual content, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail