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4.24 AVERAGE
4.24 AVERAGE
*This was sent to me for review from the publisher. All thoughts and opinions are my own.*
4 stars.
I was expecting to love this, so it's no surprise that I did, but I'm glad that I did.
I loved that the characters were messy, so so damn messy to the end. I feel like authors tend to want to wrap all of their characters in a pretty little bow at the end of novels, but that's just not realistic, and I loved that these characters were still not the best people in the end.
I'm not bisexual so I can't fully say if the representation is done well, but there were no glaring problems and I liked how it dealt with internalized biphobia!
Overall, this is an incredibly sad book but one of the most honest portrayals of queer teens that I've seen in awhile. This is perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but with a bit of a mysterious twist.
4 stars.
I was expecting to love this, so it's no surprise that I did, but I'm glad that I did.
I loved that the characters were messy, so so damn messy to the end. I feel like authors tend to want to wrap all of their characters in a pretty little bow at the end of novels, but that's just not realistic, and I loved that these characters were still not the best people in the end.
I'm not bisexual so I can't fully say if the representation is done well, but there were no glaring problems and I liked how it dealt with internalized biphobia!
Overall, this is an incredibly sad book but one of the most honest portrayals of queer teens that I've seen in awhile. This is perfect for fans of Aristotle and Dante Discover the Secrets of the Universe, but with a bit of a mysterious twist.
i knew from like page 3 that this would murder me
i read it in 2 sittings a week apart bc after i read half the book in one go my knowledge that the rest of it would wreck me prevented me from picking the rest up
it could have gone in very two different directions towards the end and i'm very glad that it took the direction it did
(i've never seen a book end like this and it's So. Goddamn. Important. i think the only book i've read that's similar is the wicker king by k ancrum)
i read it in 2 sittings a week apart bc after i read half the book in one go my knowledge that the rest of it would wreck me prevented me from picking the rest up
it could have gone in very two different directions towards the end and i'm
(i've never seen a book end like this and it's So. Goddamn. Important. i think the only book i've read that's similar is the wicker king by k ancrum)
Well...holy hell that was wonderful. I don't really have enough words to describe this book, but I'll try to make them on my blog soon.
Peace out, y'all, read this book.
-Book Hugger
Peace out, y'all, read this book.
-Book Hugger
"If you think you have to earn enough points on someone's rubric for them to accept you, then either you're wrong to assume they won't love you for who you are, or they never loved you in the first place."
This book reads like a punch in the gut feels so naturally it's 5 out of 5 stars.
Deposing Nathan was one of my most anticipated books of 2019. I knew it was going to hurt. I knew it was going to wreck me. I knew it would love it. And I was 100% right.
Let me start with saying that I really love main-characters that enjoy cursing. No matter what you're gonna say, it's FUN and Nathan and Cameron seem to think so, too. So prepare yourself for a high dose of curse words. I also really love books about boys who fall in love with boys. Deposing Nathan is about coming to terms with who you are, it's about self-discovery and self-acceptance. Here comes a brief plot overview:
Nathan lives with his dad and his aunt, who moved in after his mother died when Nathan was 7 years old. He has an amazing girlfriend, he believes in God, he likes to paint and draw but doubts that his parents will let him take an art-degree. When Cam, the new boy in school approaches him on their first day after the summer break, they become instant friends. Cameron challenges Nathan's beliefs and turns his world upside down, to the strong dismay of his aunt. Every time Nathan disobeys her, her rules become stricter, her punishments crueller, and his relationship with Cam slowly breaks under the pressure. It doesn't help that their feelings for each other are more than those of just friends. One thing leads to another and one day Nathan wakes up on the lawn in front of his house, with a deep cut in his stomach and blood pooling around him. But the truth of what happened might hurt much more. And it will have to come out.
This is not an easy book. I won't coddle you, it won't hold back, it will show you just how messy life can be sometimes. But that is exactly why you should read it. On the one hand, it talks about the importance of truth and trust in all sorts of relationships - friends, lovers, family. On the other hand - spoilers ahead - it deals with the harsh reality of domestic abuse. There is a difference between strict parents and parents that enjoy punishing their children. Nathan's aunt definitely loves to see Nathan suffer. The smallest sidestep and she turns into a vicious beast. Seeing Nathan being humiliated by her hurt a lot, but it also made my blood boil in a way that few fictional characters ever did. She is basically a muggle version of Dolores Umbridge.
Just when I thought that this book could not get any better, it surprised me once again. So many YA books - romance, dystopian, fantasy - depict unhealthy and toxic relationships. I'm used to two characters getting a happily ever after even though they're clearly not supposed to be together. I thought that it would be the same for Cam and Nathan. Yes they love each other, yes they went through a lot together, but that does not automatically mean that they are destined to be a couple. So when Cam explained that he couldn't be with Nathan because their relationship was messy and toxic - yes, he actually used the word toxic - I was stunned. I had not seen that coming. Fifty pages earlier I had thought the exact same thing. And it was then that I knew that this book would receive no less than 5 stars.
Young adult literature manages to surprise me again and again. Books like this one are brave because they're not afraid to test the limits of what YA can do. They remind me why I love YA. Because it can move mountains. Because it lends a voice to matters that have mostly gone unheard. Because it gives strength to those in need. Because it doesn't underestimate teenagers. I could go on but all that's left to say is one thing: read Deposing Nathan.
Thank you to Page Street Publishing for providing me with a review copy!
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This book reads like a punch in the gut feels so naturally it's 5 out of 5 stars.
Deposing Nathan was one of my most anticipated books of 2019. I knew it was going to hurt. I knew it was going to wreck me. I knew it would love it. And I was 100% right.
Let me start with saying that I really love main-characters that enjoy cursing. No matter what you're gonna say, it's FUN and Nathan and Cameron seem to think so, too. So prepare yourself for a high dose of curse words. I also really love books about boys who fall in love with boys. Deposing Nathan is about coming to terms with who you are, it's about self-discovery and self-acceptance. Here comes a brief plot overview:
Nathan lives with his dad and his aunt, who moved in after his mother died when Nathan was 7 years old. He has an amazing girlfriend, he believes in God, he likes to paint and draw but doubts that his parents will let him take an art-degree. When Cam, the new boy in school approaches him on their first day after the summer break, they become instant friends. Cameron challenges Nathan's beliefs and turns his world upside down, to the strong dismay of his aunt. Every time Nathan disobeys her, her rules become stricter, her punishments crueller, and his relationship with Cam slowly breaks under the pressure. It doesn't help that their feelings for each other are more than those of just friends. One thing leads to another and one day Nathan wakes up on the lawn in front of his house, with a deep cut in his stomach and blood pooling around him. But the truth of what happened might hurt much more. And it will have to come out.
This is not an easy book. I won't coddle you, it won't hold back, it will show you just how messy life can be sometimes. But that is exactly why you should read it. On the one hand, it talks about the importance of truth and trust in all sorts of relationships - friends, lovers, family. On the other hand - spoilers ahead - it deals with the harsh reality of domestic abuse. There is a difference between strict parents and parents that enjoy punishing their children. Nathan's aunt definitely loves to see Nathan suffer. The smallest sidestep and she turns into a vicious beast. Seeing Nathan being humiliated by her hurt a lot, but it also made my blood boil in a way that few fictional characters ever did. She is basically a muggle version of Dolores Umbridge.
Just when I thought that this book could not get any better, it surprised me once again. So many YA books - romance, dystopian, fantasy - depict unhealthy and toxic relationships. I'm used to two characters getting a happily ever after even though they're clearly not supposed to be together.
Young adult literature manages to surprise me again and again. Books like this one are brave because they're not afraid to test the limits of what YA can do. They remind me why I love YA. Because it can move mountains. Because it lends a voice to matters that have mostly gone unheard. Because it gives strength to those in need. Because it doesn't underestimate teenagers. I could go on but all that's left to say is one thing: read Deposing Nathan.
Thank you to Page Street Publishing for providing me with a review copy!
Find more of my books on Instagram
So I’m sobbing rn haha :)))))
So yeah I’m usually not a big contemporary reader, but sometimes I find ones that really speak to me. This was one of them & it completely ripped my emotions to shreds. I’m really glad I decided to read this.
So yeah I’m usually not a big contemporary reader, but sometimes I find ones that really speak to me. This was one of them & it completely ripped my emotions to shreds. I’m really glad I decided to read this.
Not putting in a star rating because after meeting Zack and talking to him extensively about the book I am way too attached to this whole thing to come in and do my usual goodreads review. :)
While queer rep is growing in YA fiction, bisexual men are still very underrepresented. (This is a problem across all kinds of media! Bi women are somehow more acceptable than bi men, it's very frustrating.) Sometimes I'm unexcited about coming out stories, but for bi male characters these are still new and needed. Especially for boys in Nathan's position, who have been able to hide in plain sight by presenting to others (and to themselves!) as straight.
The book moves back and forth in time following Nathan's complicated friendship with Cameron. Cameron has a big personality, an eidetic memory, and a loud mouth, but Nathan is continually drawn to him, even though it starts getting him in trouble at home with his Aunt. His Aunt is not the only complication, there's also his girlfriend and his Catholic faith.
I am probably in the minority, but I would have liked the book a little better without the framing device of Nathan's deposition after an act of violence. (Violence against queer people and queer suffering are not major elements of the book, though there is a lot of religious guilt.) I didn't need the complication, especially since the center of the story is really Nathan and Cam's relationship. The dialogue between them is great, Cameron in particular is a really distinct and notable character. I would have liked more of Nathan's internal life--this happens a lot in books with a big flashy character like Cam--so we could follow his journey more closely. I know people say show instead of tell, but I think telling can be useful! I wanted more of his emotions: the dread, the denial, and the delight.
Yes, things are better, but there are still a lot of kids who need books like this and I'm glad it exists.
While queer rep is growing in YA fiction, bisexual men are still very underrepresented. (This is a problem across all kinds of media! Bi women are somehow more acceptable than bi men, it's very frustrating.) Sometimes I'm unexcited about coming out stories, but for bi male characters these are still new and needed. Especially for boys in Nathan's position, who have been able to hide in plain sight by presenting to others (and to themselves!) as straight.
The book moves back and forth in time following Nathan's complicated friendship with Cameron. Cameron has a big personality, an eidetic memory, and a loud mouth, but Nathan is continually drawn to him, even though it starts getting him in trouble at home with his Aunt. His Aunt is not the only complication, there's also his girlfriend and his Catholic faith.
I am probably in the minority, but I would have liked the book a little better without the framing device of Nathan's deposition after an act of violence. (Violence against queer people and queer suffering are not major elements of the book, though there is a lot of religious guilt.) I didn't need the complication, especially since the center of the story is really Nathan and Cam's relationship. The dialogue between them is great, Cameron in particular is a really distinct and notable character. I would have liked more of Nathan's internal life--this happens a lot in books with a big flashy character like Cam--so we could follow his journey more closely. I know people say show instead of tell, but I think telling can be useful! I wanted more of his emotions: the dread, the denial, and the delight.
Yes, things are better, but there are still a lot of kids who need books like this and I'm glad it exists.
This book was so so powerful. It makes your heart hurt, your head throb, and your arms shiver. It's incredibly tough to read, but it's so important. The story will definitely impact you and will stay with you forever.
It is hard to imagine that this is a debut novel because it is so well done. I will definitely be praising this one for a while!
It is hard to imagine that this is a debut novel because it is so well done. I will definitely be praising this one for a while!
What you have to understand about Cam–and this is important–is that up until he jammed a shard of ceramic in my gut, he was the best friend I’ve ever had.
As soon as I read the first sentence of Deposing Nathan, I was hooked.
Deposing Nathan is really the least traditionally thriller of these three novels. Sure, there’s an unreliable narrator and a trial and some twists, but I’d really describe it more as Autoboyography with some thriller trappings. It’s a gut-punch of a story exploring sexuality and abuse and I read the whole thing in one sitting.
This is not a simple, easy story. This is a story in shades of gray about an unreliable narrator who makes bad choices, about a relationship that could be live-saving or toxic or both. Deposing Nathan begins with Nathan giving his statement in court after his former best friend, Cam, stabbed him, but this story far from a straightforward testimony. At the start, Nathan is hiding things from both the court and himself–truths that will end up dragged out of him by the end of his testimony. I thought the format of a deposition was absolutely genius because it sets up a very complicated situation and promises the reader the through on how it unfurled, making me read faster and faster for the hope of a cathartic conclusion.
This book really left me emotionally wrecked. As Nathan explores how his relationship with Cam spiraled into violence, the reader is plunged into a heart-wrenching, raw story about the struggle between faith and sexuality. Nathan is not always a pleasant person, but his actions always felt raw and real as he was caught between friendship, the possibility of more, and a tumultuous home and religious struggle. Child abuse and religious homophobia are two prominent themes throughout this book, but to me they seemed handled with care rather than exploitative.
This book is by no means short, but I devoured this book. I became totally engrossed in the characters and their tangled lives and emotions, the short chapters and emotional rollercoaster helping the pages fly by. And the ending was absolutely perfect. I won’t give away spoilers, but it instead of going in a typical direction, it ended on a note that was part pain, part healing, and all satisfying.
If you think you can handle the content of Deposing Nathan, I’d definitely recommend it for those in want of a gritty, complex story exploring real-world struggles.
Diversity notes: Bisexual main character & major side character (#ownvoices), side character with anxiety, side character who is Black and uses a wheelchair.
As soon as I read the first sentence of Deposing Nathan, I was hooked.
Deposing Nathan is really the least traditionally thriller of these three novels. Sure, there’s an unreliable narrator and a trial and some twists, but I’d really describe it more as Autoboyography with some thriller trappings. It’s a gut-punch of a story exploring sexuality and abuse and I read the whole thing in one sitting.
This is not a simple, easy story. This is a story in shades of gray about an unreliable narrator who makes bad choices, about a relationship that could be live-saving or toxic or both. Deposing Nathan begins with Nathan giving his statement in court after his former best friend, Cam, stabbed him, but this story far from a straightforward testimony. At the start, Nathan is hiding things from both the court and himself–truths that will end up dragged out of him by the end of his testimony. I thought the format of a deposition was absolutely genius because it sets up a very complicated situation and promises the reader the through on how it unfurled, making me read faster and faster for the hope of a cathartic conclusion.
This book really left me emotionally wrecked. As Nathan explores how his relationship with Cam spiraled into violence, the reader is plunged into a heart-wrenching, raw story about the struggle between faith and sexuality. Nathan is not always a pleasant person, but his actions always felt raw and real as he was caught between friendship, the possibility of more, and a tumultuous home and religious struggle. Child abuse and religious homophobia are two prominent themes throughout this book, but to me they seemed handled with care rather than exploitative.
This book is by no means short, but I devoured this book. I became totally engrossed in the characters and their tangled lives and emotions, the short chapters and emotional rollercoaster helping the pages fly by. And the ending was absolutely perfect. I won’t give away spoilers, but it instead of going in a typical direction, it ended on a note that was part pain, part healing, and all satisfying.
If you think you can handle the content of Deposing Nathan, I’d definitely recommend it for those in want of a gritty, complex story exploring real-world struggles.
Diversity notes: Bisexual main character & major side character (#ownvoices), side character with anxiety, side character who is Black and uses a wheelchair.
This review and other non-spoilery reviews can be found @The Book Prescription
“It’s not cute when people try to ‘fix’ each other. It’s cringey and dysfunctional. We both need to already have our shit worked out before we bring anyone else into it.”
🌟 So one of my friends have told me you are the stingiest reader when it comes to 5 stars! I think I deserve that title because this is my 50th book for this year and still no 5 stars. I feel like I need to explain why this is not a 5 stars book for me as all of my friends who read it gave it 5 stars. And it is not that I am losing anything if I give 5 stars but I feel that there is an ethical obligation for me to be as honest as possible so let’s break my thoughts into the elements of the story as usual!
🌟 I am starting with the characters as I felt they were the focus of the story. Nathan and Cam are both well written and realistic, the YA genre is filled with precocious or immature characters but the characters in this book acted according to their age; they were cursing and were confused and were still discovering themselves and the world which is cool. But their drama may have been a bit repetitive and too much toward the end!
We also have aunt Lori, she reminds me of Dolores Umbridge and I may have wanted to punch her in the face the whole book. Nate’s father was absent a lot and he mentions that in the book so it is OK. What I didn’t like is related to the plot so I will leave it for there.
🌟 The writing is good, not too poetic not rigid. It was not special but I think it was very good as a debut, I also like the nerdy trivia in the book!
🌟The plot was interesting, because the story starts from the end and then we go back and forth to know what happens. I know some readers don’t like this but I assure you that it was not confusing and mostly the story was set in the past. We are trying to know why Nate and Cam who are supposed to be close friends had a fight almost to death! The story is fast paced and can be finished in one day.
🌟 What irked me was that Cam had an eidetic memory, that alone is not sufficient to make him an expert in all fields, medicine for example is more than just mere doses and information to cram. Cam was giving drugs and doses just because he knows them?! That was a tiny detail that I feel originates from the author’s degree in chemistry (Yes, I do read acknowledgments and about the author pages!).
🌟 I like to keep my reviews spoiler free so this is hard to write, There were 2 plot twists at the end, one regarding the deposition which I liked and actually could guess a few pages before it happened. The second one may have been good but I think someone with an eidetic memory should have realized this long before the ending! This sounds vague but when you read it you will understand what I mean!
🌟 So overall, it was a great debut with an amazing LGBT representation and friends dynamics, it is a fast read and worth reading but I still think that some of the details could have been better!
“It’s not cute when people try to ‘fix’ each other. It’s cringey and dysfunctional. We both need to already have our shit worked out before we bring anyone else into it.”
🌟 So one of my friends have told me you are the stingiest reader when it comes to 5 stars! I think I deserve that title because this is my 50th book for this year and still no 5 stars. I feel like I need to explain why this is not a 5 stars book for me as all of my friends who read it gave it 5 stars. And it is not that I am losing anything if I give 5 stars but I feel that there is an ethical obligation for me to be as honest as possible so let’s break my thoughts into the elements of the story as usual!
🌟 I am starting with the characters as I felt they were the focus of the story. Nathan and Cam are both well written and realistic, the YA genre is filled with precocious or immature characters but the characters in this book acted according to their age; they were cursing and were confused and were still discovering themselves and the world which is cool. But their drama may have been a bit repetitive and too much toward the end!
We also have aunt Lori, she reminds me of Dolores Umbridge and I may have wanted to punch her in the face the whole book. Nate’s father was absent a lot and he mentions that in the book so it is OK. What I didn’t like is related to the plot so I will leave it for there.
🌟 The writing is good, not too poetic not rigid. It was not special but I think it was very good as a debut, I also like the nerdy trivia in the book!
🌟The plot was interesting, because the story starts from the end and then we go back and forth to know what happens. I know some readers don’t like this but I assure you that it was not confusing and mostly the story was set in the past. We are trying to know why Nate and Cam who are supposed to be close friends had a fight almost to death! The story is fast paced and can be finished in one day.
🌟 What irked me was that Cam had an eidetic memory, that alone is not sufficient to make him an expert in all fields, medicine for example is more than just mere doses and information to cram. Cam was giving drugs and doses just because he knows them?! That was a tiny detail that I feel originates from the author’s degree in chemistry (Yes, I do read acknowledgments and about the author pages!).
🌟 I like to keep my reviews spoiler free so this is hard to write, There were 2 plot twists at the end, one regarding the deposition which I liked and actually could guess a few pages before it happened. The second one may have been good but I think someone with an eidetic memory should have realized this long before the ending! This sounds vague but when you read it you will understand what I mean!
🌟 So overall, it was a great debut with an amazing LGBT representation and friends dynamics, it is a fast read and worth reading but I still think that some of the details could have been better!