Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide, Outing
emotional
sad
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
dark
hopeful
inspiring
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A coming-of-age story set in a not-so-big city in Australia.
The book captures your interest from the get-go. It is mainly from the first-person perspective of 3 teenagers who are all queer in some way. Added to this is a 4th layer of letters that seem to be suicidal and could be coming from any of the boys. This fourth layer is perhaps the one thing I did not enjoy. It adds pathos to the book and some mystery, but I felt it wasn't quite necessary. The book felt solid enough even without that.
The book does seem to be partly autobiographical and I'm sure stories like these do happen everywhere in the world. So, I can see why Holden Sheppard included it. It takes away from the joy of the book which could easily have been about just the 3 boys. I found myself rooting for two of them especially. When the book ended, I almost wanted a second part so that I could continue reading about their adventures.
I also thought for sure there would be some exploration about Charlie's dad and some kind of redemption for his mother. I was a little disappointed that it was not there. We never really understand what happened to Charlie's dad. We see it from Charlie's perspective, but it felt like the story was incomplete. I wish Holden Sheppard had included that as well.
There is a TV series now based on this novel, and I am excited to check that out! The characters are the soul of this book and are very well-written. I am curious to see how that translated on to the screen.
The book captures your interest from the get-go. It is mainly from the first-person perspective of 3 teenagers who are all queer in some way. Added to this is a 4th layer of letters that seem to be suicidal and could be coming from any of the boys. This fourth layer is perhaps the one thing I did not enjoy. It adds pathos to the book and some mystery, but I felt it wasn't quite necessary. The book felt solid enough even without that.
The book does seem to be partly autobiographical and I'm sure stories like these do happen everywhere in the world. So, I can see why Holden Sheppard included it. It takes away from the joy of the book which could easily have been about just the 3 boys. I found myself rooting for two of them especially. When the book ended, I almost wanted a second part so that I could continue reading about their adventures.
I also thought for sure there would be some exploration about Charlie's dad and some kind of redemption for his mother. I was a little disappointed that it was not there. We never really understand what happened to Charlie's dad. We see it from Charlie's perspective, but it felt like the story was incomplete. I wish Holden Sheppard had included that as well.
There is a TV series now based on this novel, and I am excited to check that out! The characters are the soul of this book and are very well-written. I am curious to see how that translated on to the screen.
challenging
emotional
hopeful
sad
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
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Suicide, Outing
all the gero stuff was a bit tacky (but maybe i’m jaded), however was a beautiful read and hard to put down. would give it a 4.5 if i could
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes