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3.89 AVERAGE
3.89 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
medium-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
challenging
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
dark
funny
inspiring
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:
Yes
If this was written by an able bodied man, my opinion would be very different. However, because the author lives a similar life on a daily basis, I thought it was both horribly depressing and hilarious. It really is a bleak book and there aren’t many reasons to smile throughout, but I found parts that relatable that I was laughing to myself. I thoroughly enjoyed it, largely because I haven’t read many books with characters using wheelchairs, so it was a breath of fresh air for me. Aside from that though, I thought the way the author wrote about the complex relationships between the characters was great and I’d highly recommend you giving this one a go.
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
slow-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
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
slow-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
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The Coward was a very different book to why I expected it to be. It’s a dark, sarcastic and brutal story of a young man trying to make sense of his traumatic past after becoming disabled. I found the writing very powerful and I struggled to read it at times due to the deep depression Jarred was in. McGinnis does an amazing job of writing about mental health difficulties. Despite this, I found Jarred to be someone I just couldn’t relate to. If I met him in real life I would likely really struggle to stay calm!
Reflecting on my past reads, I think this is one of my first reads including people with disabilities at the front. It was really enlightening to read from this perspective and to have a few different characters’ perspectives. I’ve put it’s complicated for the representation question for this reason - we have a line of queer baiting and no BIPOC so other than that it’s not very representative.
I was also disappointed by how the book just suddenly ended on a Good Will Hunting note. I felt the character development and storyline needed more flesh, the ending was abrupt. We never found out what happened to Melissa, despite her being so central to the story. Jarred never accesses therapy or really seems to grow and process the guilt he struggles with.
I also felt it was a bit cocky to name the main character after himself.
So I’ve rated this a 3.75.
Reflecting on my past reads, I think this is one of my first reads including people with disabilities at the front. It was really enlightening to read from this perspective and to have a few different characters’ perspectives. I’ve put it’s complicated for the representation question for this reason - we have a line of queer baiting and no BIPOC so other than that it’s not very representative.
I was also disappointed by how the book just suddenly ended on a Good Will Hunting note. I felt the character development and storyline needed more flesh, the ending was abrupt. We never found out what happened to Melissa, despite her being so central to the story. Jarred never accesses therapy or really seems to grow and process the guilt he struggles with.
I also felt it was a bit cocky to name the main character after himself.
So I’ve rated this a 3.75.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Violence, Death of parent
Minor: Drug abuse, Self harm, Suicide