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sarabrickwall's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, and Sexual assault
tossabunch's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Police brutality, Religious bigotry, and Murder
laurahartfield's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder
Moderate: Racial slurs
Minor: Vomit
forestfloor's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Reading this made me feel like I had a cord tied to my diaphragm and someone was continually tugging at it, there's something terribly tender about it. The characters come to life with a brutal realism and the descriptive prose is absolutely gorgeous, like I was reading a film. It's praise when I say that I wanted the plot to leave Mungo alone a bit, only a reflection of how deeply the writing pulled me to care for him.
The plot starts off slow and as the mystery of what got Mungo from the "before" timeline into the "after" setting unravels, the pace picks up. It's tense and I think it's a really good structure for the story. However, the main thing that stops me from giving this 5.0 stars is that there's not a lot of clarity or warning about how the plot jumps between timelines and different character's points of view. I think that honestly, just formatting with that little squiggle some books use between two paragraphs would've solved that for me.
I also wished that it would've held on just a little longer before ending. Just enough to know for sure that Mungo could follow that set of splinted, beckoning fingers to safety. Instead, the ending is a bittersweet, trembling thing, a silver through a cloud that promises of sunshine and the clearing of rain, but could just as easily be covered again by a drab blanket of grey. I do think that the ending suits the story, no matter how selfishly I wanted to see Mungo and James definitively safe, on a bus together.
I also have to say, just to be clear, that this is a heavy read. I saw it described as a gay, Glaswegian, Romeo and Juliet and I can't emphasise enough how much that refers the violence of the play, as well as the romance. Definitely read the trigger warnings before deciding to pick this book up.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, and Abandonment
Moderate: Abortion and Classism
Minor: Eating disorder and Racial slurs
tarsier's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Toxic relationship, Abortion, and Pregnancy
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Racial slurs, and Death of parent
joeykills's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Outing, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
abbie_'s review against another edition
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, and Injury/Injury detail
kerriboland's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Alcohol
alisonannk's review against another edition
- 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? No
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Body shaming, Cancer, Chronic illness, Confinement, Eating disorder, Gore, Hate crime, Terminal illness, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Fatphobia
kirstym25's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, and Rape
Minor: Racial slurs