hi, dad

"I'm gonna take a break and do some studying" is a sentence I thought I'd never hear in my life

The front cover of the book is literally just a picture of somebody who read the final draft.

this is the student I aspire to be, one who considers the actual studying as the break itself

Its those small moments where Jude thinks to himself that he doesn't deserve anything good or happiness because he thinks he is dirty and deformed. It broke my heart everytime he thought this.

i can smell the mental breakdown coming and im only 1 minute in

I read those last 100 pages on a plane. It was A MISTAKE. I didn’t know it was going to be so bad. Hostesses came to comfort me, it was a whole thing. I don’t recommend being outside your home when reading this!

Me: watches her have an entire breakdown over this book Also me: *adds to tbr*

I just think this book should come with a free puppy to comfort the readers

kat: everyone says this book is super sad but like... where? also kat: *intense sobbing*

Wow the fact that Kat said “I’m on page 420” with a completely straight face shows how much this book is effecting her

“so i try to be kind in everything i see, and in everything i see, i see him.” *sobs*

after being depressed for several days due to reading the book thief, I've learned my lesson.

When you said “we don’t know anything about Jude, he’s mysterious” I literally said ooooh honey you’ve got a big storm comin’!

Who else wants to see a very detailed discussion between Kat and Lauren on this book?

It broke my heart every time Jude apologized for something he had no control over. He always felt he had to apologize for just being him, even in the end.

The fact that you have time to read in college is beautiful I can’t even look at a book

You finally reading this has the same vibe as when Leonardo DiCaprisun finally won that Oscar.

Reading this book as someone who has gone through sexual abuse as a teenager, physical and mental abuse from a parent, and over 10 years of self harm addiction and suicide attempts, I have never read something that I've been able to connect with a character on this level. This book is not trauma porn, it is a beautifully accurate representation of how trauma erodes your mental state, and leaves lasting scares that makes every single relationship you have in your life a challenge. this book will stay with me forever x

honestly i did not cry for the huge parts because a lot of them came so quickly, but for the small things, just like you, i did. especially with “willem watching jude tell a story.” i was mostly shocked during the bigger parts.

“I don’t know if I would cry about Willem” Sure.

If reading 200 pages in 3 days (also studying with it) is slow then i don't know what I am

forced myself to start and finish this before finals. i really didnt think I'd cry so much but throughout and by the end of this: i realized i wasnt crying for the characters, i was also crying for my own life and trauma. i saw myself written in this, and by grieving the characters, i grieved myself too. i feel cleansed.

I'm surprised you didn't include Andy in the list of characters you really cared about (Harold, Willem, Jude). I finished A Little Life about a month ago and Andy was definitely one of my favorite characters and I loved his loyalty to Jude

‘the happy years’ THE single most inappropriately named chapter. congrats on finishing though! it’s definitely not an easy ride and I feel your pain.

Our favourite librarian who we have a crush on is back ✨

Seeing the thumbnail reminded me of her update on GoodReads, saying, "Did I finish this book or did this book finish me?"

“i’m gonna drive now and i don’t wanna crash so bye” oh honey

"It's hard for books to make me emote these days" "It's not weeping, it's not sobbing" *11:43*

me not knowing what the book is about: cant be that bad me reading the content warnings: Oh

i have never cried whilst reading a book before.. the part where Harold called Jude sweetheart...

I just finished reading and I didn't cry... Till I reached Dear Comrade, after that, I couldn't stop crying, I couldn't stop reading, so I just read until I reached the end. I WAS SOBBING Y'ALL My eyes where swollen when I woke up the next day bc I fell asleep while crying.

"Part five is called, 'The Happy Years'. Won't lie to you: I DOUBT IT." I howled.

Sad librarian is here to steal our hearts

this is deadass my fourth time rewatching this video i just love reading vlogs and its so perfect as background sound for studying

for anyone wondering the content warnings are: sexual abuse, child sexual abuse, scary verbal abuse, psychological manipulation and gaslighting, kidnapping/imprisonment, many modes of self-harm, a violent accident, a few moments of prejudice against the disabled, drug use, addiction, grief and loss of a loved one.

U look like a girl timothee chalamet and it is the cutest thing ever

her laughing while crying is such a mood

Who else cried with her even though they haven’t read the book yet? I wanted to give her a big hug

*I'm here for the tears*

my dad always tells me that i can only read this book when i'm older... now i see why

im so emotionally connected to this book that its straight on pathetic. i can not, i repeat, can not imagine forgetting these characters.

A Little Life is a very good portrait of a person permanently and severely damaged by horrific abuse. Not everyone who's been hurt can be healed. I didn't cry when I read it but it's stuck with me.

the moment you lifted the book up and you were about to start "the happy years" i audibly gasped

Me: Hasn't read the book. Kat: starts crying hysterically. Me: Starts crying because apparently I'm a weak little bitch and sadness is contagious. Also me: *Yeah, I'm gonna read this book.* Edit: I'm halfway through the book and I can't stop crying. I need some hugs. Edit 2: I finished this a month ago and I'm still not over it.

First of all, I want to say something that I haven’t seen in any other reviews: TRIGGER WARNINGS!!! This book is seriously so triggering it’s almost dangerous, I can’t believe that isn’t a big disclaimer before it stars. So, if these topics upset you (may I say it’s VERY graphic): sexual abuse, verbal abuse, child abuse, violence, self harm (in every way), torture, grooming, ptsd, rape, heavy trauma, anxiety, eating disorder, forced prostitution, human trafficking. Ok, now let’s go to the bad parts: I don’t think the author knew how to deal well with race. It tries too hard to display race and sometimes it’s almost offensive. (Like there’s two characters whose only purpose on the book is being black and asian, and they have the exact same name and the only way to differentiate they is calling them by their race) Some characters are left really plain after the first chapter. The book kinda of glorifies too much self harm, and the descriptions and the way it feels, is almost as if it was good (?) which I think it can be very dangerous since it doesn’t have trigger warnings. Now why I gave it 5 stars besides it all: Wow. I don’t cry. This is the first book that made me sob and laugh in a matter of pages. The first thing ever that made me cry out of joy and smile wider than my mouth. This made me cry almost everyday. And smile. And hope. The book that reintroduced me to reading, really. I lost completely my habit of reading which made me very sad, but I read this 720 page book in 2 weeks. I woke up thinking about this book. I slept thinking about it. I fell in love and genuinely cared for the characters. The first book I was really scared of it ending. I just wanted more and more. I stared at the wall for 2 hours after i finished. How it shows the path of healing is NOT a linear one. We fall, we rise, we go back, and forth. It’s hard. But it’s possible. It destroyed me and put me back together. I’ve learned so much. The ending wasn’t particularly good but it gave me closure. It really felt like i’ve lived a little life, a little life encapsulated by those pages. It was simply beautiful. If you’re looking for A Great Gay Novel: this is not for you If you’re looking for a hard heavy full on drama: this is not for you. If you’re looking for a bittersweet, tragic depiction of live: well, good luck my friend!

“Is that true? If I keep reading, is Beth gonna die?”

me: has 3 essays and projects due in 5 hours, hasn't socialized in weeks Kat: uploads a video my brain: don't watch it do you have no life me: a little life? I'll leave

omg your mom saying "this isn't going to take us down for the whole rest of the season is it" really resonated with me lol

Girl I have NO IDEA how you didn’t full on sob during the x=x scene.

me: i'm already depressed and anxious irl so i won't read/watch anything depressing also me: looks up which books make you cry.

this is absolutely my favourite book and YES it ruined my life

I cried while watching this because I so viscerally remember the trauma of this book oh my god

I think I just fell in love with this girl

"I hope we're done cause how much more can that boy take?" Oh boy, you had no idea.

A Little Life is one of my favourite books, that said, it was profoundly painful that even thinking about it makes makes me cry. I remember watching an interview of Hanya's where she talked about why she wrote it and she said something about wanting to create a character who endures so much but doesn't get better and sort of trying to figure out what that would look like and how their life would be. And I thought that was so interesting to read a book about a character who never gets better. i definitely understand why people hate this book, i sometimes hate it too because of how painful it was to read, and i get the tragedy porn moniker. But it's also one my favourites because of hanya's writing and her ability to craft a story that makes me care so much about a character. I read it last year and i still thinking about jude and willem and jude making bread All The Time!

I wanna read this but I’m the overly emotional child who will literally cry if the person who won Great British Bake Off cries. Yeah I’m that person, I’m very afraid.

Just finished it yesterday. Even though I anticipated what happened at the end of "The Happy Years" I basically sobbed throughout the whole of "Dear Comrade". Still, this is one of the best books that I've ever read.

I’ve been thinking about reading this book for a while now and just stumbled upon your review. Very well done and let me just say thank you for being so raw and vulnerable and thank you so so SO much for the trigger warning list in the description.

Kat: I'm gonna read to page 420 Everyone: Nice

thank you for making this video spoiler-free, i bought it based on your reaction lmao

there's so many moments where i just want to reach out to jude and comfort him whenever he has his bad thoughts. even though he had to deal with his trauma for years, i'm more moved by the support system that he still has for over 30 years or so, who are so loyal and loving to him, who just wants to see him get better. ultimately, this book teaches so much about family and friendship values that makes me glad knowing that jude got through more years than he would have if he didn't have that support from them.

spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: spoiler warning: - I didn’t find myself crying at this book until Willem’s death and that was mainly out of shock because I truly did not see it coming. After that I didn’t anticipate me crying at this book again as any other sad thing that would have happened I already anticipated and had already prepared myself for. But then as you said, I came to a heartbreaking line that shattered me completely, when Jude is in JBs gallery and sees the painting of Willem and he observes that in the painting Willem is clearly looking at something or someone that he loves and then JB points out the name of the art piece: “Willem listening to Jude tell a story” - It felt like it was finally Jude realising that Willem truly had loved him. It’s safe to say I sobbed,

“No tears yet, dry as a desert” 5 min later So many tears

legit have a 2400 word essay due tomorrow, but we gotta support our favourite librarian

SPOILER WARNING I always wondered why Harold was the only character that switched to the first person. Was it because she planned, from the start, on ending Jude's life that way? And that the emotions were best conveyed directly through Harold? I don't know. But I always felt that Harold was the reader. What he felt, we felt. We were distanced from Jude in some ways but we rooted for him, we desperately wanted him to be happy even if we couldn't be his Willem, we wanted to see his story to the end, to hope till the end, like Harold had. That's just what I think.

I think the only part of this book that truly broke me was JB imitating Jude and Jude’s reaction. that was the only time I actually cried.

"I havent cried yet but I feel a little dead inside" ... This one quote got me to pick the book up

the two major things i gathered from this video are: i need to get a dog who will lick my sad book-induced tears while i am weeping, and we need more vlogs of you reading a single book!!!

Is it just me or has everyone forgotten about Andy like he was one of my favourites like Willem Harold and Andy had to be my top three other than jude

i feel like i belong to the small amount of ppl who have not shed ONE single tear on this book. i found it the most heart breaking and drenching book and it has this beautiful, cruel, overwhelming way of breaking your heart into pieces. but i love that so much about it. idk why but i love the pain it gives me, it just makes me feel emotions which is hard for me as an individual to do (some of yall can probably relate). if something is making me so sad that i cant take it anymore, i cannot cry which is what happened to me reading this. i left my heart in this book. also i laughed so hard when you were not finished with the happy years yet and said "i think thats all the bad things, i dont think jude can take anything more" anyways - rlly enjoyed this vlog

just finished a little life today, literally had to take breaks every chapter from dear comrade and after bc it was too much. i wish i could erase the ending from my memory, honest to god. literally sobbed my mom had to come in and calm me down :(

If you rarely cry when reading books and A Little Life did this to you, I'm so worried because I cry over EVERY book I read. 😂

This was the saddest book I’ve ever read in my life but I still loved it

“she’s coming to give you kisses because you have problems.” i love that.

I think of Jude everyday since I read this and I have no regrets

“where’s the sad stuff? i don’t know!” 2 seconds later: kat sobbing

Oh my god I can’t actually believe this was 4 years ago. I miss you on your channel, Kat.

i didnt cry until i read the last sentence, like i finished that sentence and i just burst out in tears for 12 minutes exactly and went to sleep.

You: I just hit page 420 which means... Me: You're lit (yeahhhh) You: I'm now over half way through Me: Oh...

why did I start to cry when you did at the end? i haven’t read the book!

I’ve watched this so many times and so many videos where this is hyped up and you’re the only person who’s convinced me to buy this

You should've put the book in the freezer

"im just upsettti spaghetti' this seems to be the theme of the vlog

"Hello people. Is that the _World Wide Web_ calling?" "They’re not calling" "Oh, they will" *we stan*

9:59 "i'm gonna drive now and i don't wanna crash" it was foreshadowing

I was like "damn, it makes Kat feel this much? I will read it!" Then I saw the warnings.

This is just you in complete shambles

you know it's serious when the post-it's appear

I read this book totally blind. A friend said "you should read A Little Life" and I said "ok!" and picked it up from the library. After I finished it I texted her and let her know that she fully and completely ruined my LIFE with this book.

I haven’t read this book yet but why am i even crying along with you? Also i love how your dog kisses you every time you get sad. ❤️

I am eight months pregnant and I started this book earlier in the week and I can tell this was a horrible idea. I cried while watching The Voice the other day for gosh sakes, what am I thinking starting this?!

I waited for so long and it's here and I'm not prepared. Kat breaking down over something that isn't Radio Silence? Here for it

This is the first reading vlog I've watched all the way through, and i loved it

I finally read the book after I watched Kat’s vlog. Finished it a few days ago and I’m still not over it. How can a book be so beautiful and yet make you not want to keep reading and keep reading at the same time and be so heartbreaking ? I don’t think I’ll find a book quite like this again

YOU FINALLY READ IT WTF I NEVER THOUGHT THIS WOULD HAPPEN

kat crying I literally us in finalls week

Can I just say how much I actually admire when a book reader does equally well in audio books. That's just amaze

I’ve got ‘A Little life’ staring at me from my tbr pile and to be honest it’s kinda terrifying me 😂 it can stay in the pile for a while longer

a little life is on my tbr and now i’m a little nervous