Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

Ghosts of Harvard by Francesca Serritella

24 reviews

meganmrutter's review against another edition

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

4.5


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alylentz's review against another edition

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dark mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Even though I'd read the summary, this was not at all what I expected. This is definitely an ambitious undertaking, and I don't know that it was quite pulled off at the end. 

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blainereads's review against another edition

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mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.75

This was not very good :)

There was a lot of author ignorance regarding race that came through with these characters, and not in a way that felt purposeful or that served the story — just in a way that made it feel like the identities of the characters (that is, the real life people they represented) were exploited and often made into caricatures of diverse demographics. When the POC characters weren’t being offensively caricatured, It often (if not always) felt like slapping an “Asian” or “Indian” in front of a description was more for checking boxes than offering any real depth or purpose to the narrative. White people, pay attention: this is how NOT to include diversity in your books. 

Aside from that, the way disability and mental illness was treated was uncomfortable, at best. And none of this begins to touch on to the grating dialogue and unbelievable plot and convenient plot points! I signed up for ghosts and got ill-conceived Russian spies instead  :(

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caroline_slaughter's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25


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mscottyj's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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kristinesreads's review against another edition

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4.5


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maddireads13's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced

3.0


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erinmarple's review against another edition

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emotional mysterious reflective sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


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deckledlens's review against another edition

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

4.25

The author's development of the setting is masterful. Immediately, you feel as if you're a student at Harvard with Cady, investigating the death of your sick brother. This book is heavy but fascinating. and I couldn't put it down. As the characters (read: ghosts) come alive before your eyes, you need to know more and more about them. While some areas of the plot felt disconnected or slow, you never once wanted to leave the characters until you learned the answer. I also loved how this book gave a voice to several whose are lost in the whitewashed history of ivy league schools. The author's note at the end explains more; definitely read it! 

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ktdakotareads's review against another edition

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dark emotional medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A lot of elements were thrown into the story that were sometimes hard to distinguish from one another. 

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