Reviews with content warning for Cursing - Baby and Solo

Reviews tagging 'Cursing'

Baby and Solo by Lisabeth Posthuma

3 reviews

kell_xavi's review

emotional funny sad medium-paced

5.0

A clever, realistic story about a boy who works at a video store, a boy who’s trying to be Normal after years in and out of psych wards and tense family situations.

So much of What Was Wrong With Me was due to being too damn lonely for too damn long.

Baby and Solo are great characters in complicated lives, and the supporting cast is painted with honesty and the accuracy of teenage angst, as well.

Posthuma deftly and respectfully handles teen pregnancy, abortion, homophobia, and mental illness in this book, with humour, joy, and strong friendships to carry the story. The mystery had me sobbing by the end, but it made sense too, and was wrapped up beautifully.

Content Warnings

bella_cavicchi's review

Go to review page

emotional funny reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

There's so much more to this novel than I had first (and wrongly) assumed. It explores loss and mental health with great care, and Posthuma is skilled in writing about teenagers for teenagers, who are often more smart, thoughtful, and compassionate than we as a society give them credit for. Because I think that's really what the story grapples with: does age determine who knows best? / aren't we all, kinda, sorta, muddling through life?

Fair warning: I teared up at the end! But definitely one to read.

Content Warnings

nytephoenyx's review

Go to review page

emotional fast-paced

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

3.5

Disclaimer: I received this book for free from LibraryThing and Candlewick Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

I had very mixed feelings about Baby & Solo for the duration of the book, up until the last ~50pgs.

I'll start with the good stuff!

This book is overflowing with 90s nostalgia, particularly of the cinematic variety. I knew every film mentioned and delighted in it. ROYO Video reminded me immediately of the small town privately owned video rental stores I went to as a kid (we didn't do Blockbuster). The daily grind of the work day in a retail store with a tight knit group of coworkers also rang very familiar. As a whole, I felt comfortable in the world of Baby & Solo, and that was a nice feeling. It easy to fall into this book, because in many ways, the world was like a walk through my own memories.

That said.

I had some Serious Problems with the way Certain Things were discussed. Before I get into those things, I will say that everything was challenged by the end and some characters took accountability, and the reactions were explained (not justified - don't misunderstand. Explained). If I hadn't finished the book, however, I wouldn't've known this, and it would have made the book as a whole Very Problematic. There's conversations about mental health and homosexuality and transgender people that is discussed... well... in a very 90s tenor. Which means there was a bunch of homophobia, transphobia, and Questionable Terms. It was very uncomfortable.

I didn't love the way in which Posthuma addressed mental health in this book. We've advanced past the use of certain terms. I understand why the language was the way it way, because the story is told in first person and Joel's self-image (and thus the language he uses) has been modeled by the influential people in his life. Part of Joel's journey in Baby & Solo is overcoming the shade certain people have cast on his life and beginning to understand The Bad Thing That Happened and the truth behind it.

But there were scenes that made me cringe. Until I understood - at the end - why they were there. And until they were challenged. I want to warn you, readers, that there are scenes with people who are so closed-minded, homophobic, trying to dictate what a woman should do with her body... there's a lot of hate in this book that the characters deal with (and sometimes dish out). It's messy and concerning.

At the end of the day, Baby & Solo ended much better than I expected. I was proud of Joel, once all was said and done. He still has a while to go, and I'm glad not everything was forgiven, but I was pleasantly surprised with the way everything wrapped up. The world of this book was wonderful - it's what drew me in. And if you stick it to the end, Baby & Solo deals with a lot of issues in a period where the rampant homophobia and judgement against teen moms and everything you see in this book was very alive and well.

Oh, and I really liked the characters, too. If I changed anything about Baby & Solo, I think I'd use less of the historically accurate hate language and probably be a bit more subtle about The Bad Thing That Happened, but from cover to cover, I enjoyed the book. If you DNF'd after the first concerning scene, though, I would never have known that everything was challenged and addressed.

Content Warnings

More...