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4.26 AVERAGE
4.26 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
emotional
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:
Complicated
4+⭐️
Not quite a 5 but right up there.
If you’ve read and enjoyed ‘Honeybee’ by Craig Silvey I think you’ll love this.
I was very invested in their stories and lives so would love a second book like a Where are they now
Not quite a 5 but right up there.
If you’ve read and enjoyed ‘Honeybee’ by Craig Silvey I think you’ll love this.
I was very invested in their stories and lives so would love a second book like a Where are they now
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
sad
fast-paced
This book is a high octane emotional rollercoaster. It was gifted to me by a close friend as it is his favourite book. I knew before I even read a sentence that this book was going to make me cry. I read SheppardЃEЂЃEs novella in the Griffith review last year and it made me ball my eyes out. I was surprised that all the boy got me. At one point, each of their perspectives got me teary eyed. The letterbombs were a minefield of tears. But no book of despair is brilliant without equal measures of hope. Sheppard illustrated his brilliance through making this a heraldЃEЂЃEa cry of hope and support. This book is truly exemplary of Australian YA fiction. I am blown away.
challenging
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Suicide
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Baggage reclaim: the antiheroes of Holden Sheppard’s Bildungsroman (possibly) - Zeke the Geek, Charlie Roth aka Charlie Goth, and Cade Hammersmith the school jock inevitably known as Hammer, plus farm boy Matt, a paid up Okker with wildly protruding teeth - struggle with sexuality, mental health, coming out, conservative parents, a religious school, small town attitudes in a remote corner of Queensland that seems about as far from Sydney’s Oxford Street, let alone Soho or the Castro, as the moon.
Invisible Boys is raw, funny, heartfelt and angry, coming across as equal parts Heartstopper without so much of the happy ever after, a post-AIDS It’s A Sin, and the gay man version of Heathers. Nominally a young adult book, it works for most thanks to energetic pacing, an economy of dialogue and description that conveys a lot in a few words, and some very choice swearing. It’s a touching not love but lust story encapsulating all the rage, energy, excitement and futility of high school life in a prolonged argument for how the system fails so many of us ‘others’.
Mr Sheppard is clearly a major new talent and now I’m thirsty for more.
Invisible Boys is raw, funny, heartfelt and angry, coming across as equal parts Heartstopper without so much of the happy ever after, a post-AIDS It’s A Sin, and the gay man version of Heathers. Nominally a young adult book, it works for most thanks to energetic pacing, an economy of dialogue and description that conveys a lot in a few words, and some very choice swearing. It’s a touching not love but lust story encapsulating all the rage, energy, excitement and futility of high school life in a prolonged argument for how the system fails so many of us ‘others’.
Mr Sheppard is clearly a major new talent and now I’m thirsty for more.
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content
challenging
dark
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-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
my first 5 star read of the year - loved it.