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sky143's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
firstknight's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Vomit, Police brutality, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment
andrea_lachance's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The beginning of the book is slow going, trying to parce who's-who and what exactly is going on takes time. The second half really kicks into gear with gut-wrenching revelations. Mungo is a babe in the woods, and this book beats the innocence out of Mungo in the worst possible ways.
It's a good read. An important read. There are probably people with much better reviews for this book, this is me spitballing.
Personally, the detailed descriptions for characters dealing with alcoholism were so tough for me to read because it was so realistic. It's horrifying what kinds of details one notices when a body is so ravaged by alcohol abuse.
I give it a 4.5 because the emotions I went through reading this book were so viceral, and for me personally that's one of the most important things a book like this can do.
The glimmer of hope at the end is a sigh of relief. The ride in the car with the nice man was a reprieve. Poor Mungo isn't young when he comes home. He knows his family will never be the same, Josie will go to college and never come back, Mo-maw will keep drinking and being with whatever man will give her attention, and Hamish will keep stirring shit with the Catholics. So he leaves. We don't get to know where. But he's choosing to break the cycle of abuse.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Sexual assault, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Drug use, Misogyny, Rape, Sexism, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Domestic abuse, Pedophilia, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, and Abortion
remimicha's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
notthatcosta's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
However, the flashes forward to the plot at the loch veered into misery porn in a way that felt unnecessary. I hate the countryside as much as it is, and I don't feel like the events that transpired really added anything to the book, nor did it really inform the plot. I feel like it would have been a total triumph had it completely erased that sub plot, including the ending.
Overall the excellent parts outweigh the part I resented having to read, and I'm keen to read Shuggie Bain off the back of this.
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Grief, Abortion, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
mai_books27's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Police brutality, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
pierrojenesais's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Also this book stomped on my heart so many times I felt like it couldn’t get worse. It did.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, and Abortion
audrxyg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Graphic: Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death
hypocrisis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
what i love about stuart's work is the realistically complex full characterisation of the families in his books, once again the mother figure sticks out in this regard. definitely worth a read if you can stomach it!
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Excrement, Abortion, and Outing
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Death of parent
pstillbejeweled's review against another edition
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Sexual harassment