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4.09 AVERAGE
4.09 AVERAGE
Do you ever read a book and think you’re reading a different version than everybody else because everybody else loved it and you cannot fathom why? This was such a book.
My main problem is that I didn’t believe a word of it. Yes, it is fiction, but even fiction you have to believe while you’re reading it, right? It just felt... I honestly think the best word for it is a German one, hanebüchen, outlandish and absurd. June didn’t sound like a teenager to me, and the events were so obviously events that might take place in a novel rather than in real life it made me roll my eyes a lot. In fact, if it weren’t the case that I always read way too many books at once, and I didn’t gave that problem with any of the other books, I would have been afraid something was wrong with me.
I’m also not a fan of how AIDS was treated in the book. I’ve read five books dealing with AIDS this that were released in the last couple years (i.e. not during the height of the crisis), and while one was excellent and two very good, I had to stop reading one because it was treated like...some kind of prop and gotcha, or lack of a better expression. And this had a similar feeling to it. Part of it might be that I had such problems with June‘s POV, and her views are very much influenced by attitudes of the eighties, at least at first. But the ending made me angry, and while I was adjusting the rating from three to two stars as I went on, the ending is why I chose one star.
Spoilers, so read on at your peril.
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So at the end June asks Toby, who is dying from AIDS, for help and he rescues her sister heroically in the pouring rain and of course he gets really sick and then dies and seriously, wtf. Wtf.
My main problem is that I didn’t believe a word of it. Yes, it is fiction, but even fiction you have to believe while you’re reading it, right? It just felt... I honestly think the best word for it is a German one, hanebüchen, outlandish and absurd. June didn’t sound like a teenager to me, and the events were so obviously events that might take place in a novel rather than in real life it made me roll my eyes a lot. In fact, if it weren’t the case that I always read way too many books at once, and I didn’t gave that problem with any of the other books, I would have been afraid something was wrong with me.
I’m also not a fan of how AIDS was treated in the book. I’ve read five books dealing with AIDS this that were released in the last couple years (i.e. not during the height of the crisis), and while one was excellent and two very good, I had to stop reading one because it was treated like...some kind of prop and gotcha, or lack of a better expression. And this had a similar feeling to it. Part of it might be that I had such problems with June‘s POV, and her views are very much influenced by attitudes of the eighties, at least at first. But the ending made me angry, and while I was adjusting the rating from three to two stars as I went on, the ending is why I chose one star.
Spoilers, so read on at your peril.
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So at the end June asks Toby, who is dying from AIDS, for help and he rescues her sister heroically in the pouring rain and of course he gets really sick and then dies and seriously, wtf. Wtf.
emotional
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:
No
Beautiful, beautiful!! I enjoyed this book thoroughly. Very grateful for my friend who gifted me the book. The story comes together so beautifully in the end. I really feel I understand all the characters. All the secrets and choices. Let me end this review here, before I start telling all about the book and possibly spoil something. Just, read it. Really. Read it!
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I kept feeling like, why did you hate Fault In Our Stars so much but feel so connected to this story. I still am not sure of the answer although I did just finish it. Maybe it'll come to me and I'll come back and have an answer.
I wont lie I cried about 30 times, sometimes just a sentence worth until about the last 60 pages and then I couldn't stop.
There are some people who think June loving her Uncle Finn is totally creepy and it ruined the book for them but I thought of it like when youre a tween and there are these certain tween heart throbs a-la Beibs or the guys from One Direction. A lot of times these are safe crushes. Fairly feminine, maybe gay also older. This had the same feeling to me. She was a weird girl who didn't fit in with other kids and loving this Uncle whom she saw MAYBE once a month for an afternoon who was cultured and funny and kind, not to mention gay, is, well, safe. Even though the word love was used it definitely sounded more like a crush to me, there wasn't anything sexual about it. He was someone who wasn't a parent (obligated to tell you how special you are in the best case circumstances) who made her feel important. She of course knew nothing would come of it and was embarrassed about her feelings, which felt pretty normal too. OK, enough of that, but I wanted to explain why I DIDN'T think it was gross or creepy or weird that she loved her uncle.
The other thing that strikes me is how far gay rights has come in twenty-five years.
I wont lie I cried about 30 times, sometimes just a sentence worth until about the last 60 pages and then I couldn't stop.
There are some people who think June loving her Uncle Finn is totally creepy and it ruined the book for them but I thought of it like when youre a tween and there are these certain tween heart throbs a-la Beibs or the guys from One Direction. A lot of times these are safe crushes. Fairly feminine, maybe gay also older. This had the same feeling to me. She was a weird girl who didn't fit in with other kids and loving this Uncle whom she saw MAYBE once a month for an afternoon who was cultured and funny and kind, not to mention gay, is, well, safe. Even though the word love was used it definitely sounded more like a crush to me, there wasn't anything sexual about it. He was someone who wasn't a parent (obligated to tell you how special you are in the best case circumstances) who made her feel important. She of course knew nothing would come of it and was embarrassed about her feelings, which felt pretty normal too. OK, enough of that, but I wanted to explain why I DIDN'T think it was gross or creepy or weird that she loved her uncle.
The other thing that strikes me is how far gay rights has come in twenty-five years.
Beautifully and honestly narrated by 14 year old June Elbus, Tell the Wolves I'm Home expresses the insecurities and innocence that filters our view of the world at the age between childhood and adulthood. June and her sister Greta are written to life in full color and detail. AIDs as a topic is handled with grace and truth, never becoming detailed or morbid or judgmental. I loved the connection that June draws of "wrong" love, understanding her own love for her uncle and his love for Toby. This book is filled with tenderness and touches the heart throughout.
Fantastic debut novel.
It's being described as a coming-of-age novel, but I think it's really more of a story about dealing with grief. Grief which is set against the backdrop of the ignorance surrounding AIDS in the late 80s.
Lovely 80s references to films, food, music, New York City and Sun-In!
It's being described as a coming-of-age novel, but I think it's really more of a story about dealing with grief. Grief which is set against the backdrop of the ignorance surrounding AIDS in the late 80s.
Lovely 80s references to films, food, music, New York City and Sun-In!
Beautifully written & so moving. This book will stay with me for a while
emotional
reflective
medium-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