Reviews

Whoa. Loved this. Loved this a lot. It was slow and paced in a way that I usually can’t stay engaged with, but I really just couldn’t put it down. Reminded me so much of growing up in rural Texas as a closeted queer kid. It had complex, complicated, fucked up characters that were true to their environment and upbringing and I appreciated how human it all was. I even appreciated that the conflicts weren’t perfectly wrapped up, which felt truer to the characters that had been carefully written. Really loved this.

margot_psd's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

Whoever wrote that review saying it was funny and wonderful needs to go get their head checked. What was funny about this exactly? This is a 30-something alcoholic woman whose father kills himself, whose mother refuses to communicate with, whose brother decided to date the girl he KNEW she was in a relationship with already and had a kid with, whose ex's mom tried to abuse, and whose ex abandoned her and her family after two timing her with her brother. This was sad and messed up. No one communicated and they all are emotionally constipated. Nothing funny about this at all

fan_farming_tastic's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Stunningly beautiful language

_reading_with_kate_'s review against another edition

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Kristen Arnett is one of my favorite people to follow on Twitter.

vannahsun's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative lighthearted reflective sad tense 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

4.75

I really enjoyed this book and felt as if it definitely lived up to the hype on TikTok, recommend by creators for people who like to read “weird girl books.” This book took me awhile to get through but I’m glad that I pushed through it and finished it. It was a bit repetitive in the narrative structure with flipping back and forth from memories that Jessa had with her family or Brynn and up keeping the family taxidermy business after grief and loss has struck the family. I loved how openly queer and honest the book felt and I felt as if Jessa and Brynn’s relationship was heartbreaking and one that you can sympathize with if you’ve ever been the person that wants someone that they can’t have. Overall, it was an interesting and insightful read about the unraveling of a family after loss, stricken with grief and resentment, and how they pick up the pieces and put things back together over time. Highly recommend!

blueflor's review

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challenging dark emotional funny reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

julesmathhart's review

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dark emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

When I saw that Karen Russell had blurbed this book, I knew I’d love it!

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