Reviews tagging 'Violence'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

439 reviews

sapphire's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Racial slurs

bridgetam's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Abortion and Injury/Injury detail

mgordon3118's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Classism

orndal's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexism, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Classism

fionag's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

• 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? It's complicated

4.5

Just finished and I genuinely don’t know what to say. I haven’t read the (in)famous Shuggie Bain yet so this is my first foray into Stuart’s writing. First of all, the writing is impeccable. Throughout this novel I have felt for Mungo with my entire body, and found it incredibly difficult to continue reading when things got dark. And they certainly do get dark. Please read trigger warnings as this is unrelenting. The characterisation was fantastic, some sentences had me gasping at their beauty, and the relationship between Mungo and James had burrowed its way into my heart. At the same time, I don’t feel I can give this 5 stars due to how utterly drained and empty I feel after listening to the last chapter. Read if: you love complex characters with heartbreaking relationships, fragile masculinity, working class tales with religious bigotry and violence, gorgeous tales of first love, harrowing tales of survival and loss of innocence, and open endings with a glimmer of hope. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Violence, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Abortion

orla_h's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Rape, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Physical abuse, and Abandonment

ceejcook's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

• 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

blood's review against another edition

woof

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, and Murder

Minor: Death of parent

katalia's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, and Outing

pomoevareads's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

5.0

5 emotionally wrecked stars

I’ll start by saying this book is not for every reader. It has some tough content and requires self-care while reading it.

Protestant, 15 year old Mungo from Glasgow meets a young Catholic James. It is the first time that Mungo has had the feelings that boys his age in the Thatcher era are expected to feel, only towards girls. His elder brother Hamish is a gang leader who has a reputation to uphold and a violent streak. His sister Jodie is a smart 16 year old who makes sure that Mungo is fed when their alcoholic mother Maureen takes off to be with a man. 

Every character in this book is carefully drawn out and three dimensional, even the very minor ones. The settings are vivid. The way the author has chosen to play with time created a tension where, while the reader knows something awful is likely to happen soon, one must turn the pages quickly. The trauma in this story is not for the faint of heart and may be very triggering to many. 

I have not yet read Shuggie Bain and now intend to but need a break for a little while before I am ready to tackle it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault and Violence