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suzzzzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Xenophobia, and Murder
kreale24'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? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Drug abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Xenophobia, Abortion, and Murder
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
potterpav's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Pedophilia and Rape
Moderate: Physical abuse, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia
Minor: Animal cruelty and Abortion
alouette'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
this is a very difficult, very beautiful novel. i don't think i would've been able to make it through if i related any more to the characters (or was less able to numb myself to their pain). they are all such complicated, broken people and the fact that no one could protect Mungo had me in tears. even when he had to do what he did to protect himself, all i felt was sadness. i had to hold on really tight to the comfort of Mungo's relationships with James and with his sister <3
for all the darkness, my favourite part was the chance for us as readers to choose a happy ending in the implications of the very last scene. the world was and is and will be fill of terrible cultures and places and people, but we will find reasons to keep going.
my second favourite part was when Mungo kissed James and thought "maybe if lord of the flies had been more like this he would've paid more attention." same, bud, same
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Religious bigotry, Murder, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Moderate: Police brutality and Fire/Fire injury
unboxedjack'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
4.5
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
Minor: Abortion, Death of parent, and Pregnancy
orndal's review against another edition
- 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
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
katieb94'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
3.75
This book is definitely not the sort of book that I would usually pick up, I haven’t read Shuggie Bain by the author but I may go back and read it now that I have read a book using Scottish dialect. I honestly heard the accent as I was reading, even though the voice in my head is mine.
I’m trying to read more diversely so the topic of being gay in a time when it was frowned upon definitely counts towards that.
I did enjoy this book.
I really liked Mungo as a character, as well as his sister and James. However, I just really didn’t like the rest of the characters. They were all so cruel, bullies and just didn’t care. For people who supposedly cared for Mungo they didn’t show it.
I did find certain scenes in this novel very difficult to read. I did not expect certain themes and I had to read something else afterwards as I couldn’t bring myself to read on straight away.
I would definitely prepare yourself with the trigger warnings mentioned above before going into it.
It was a good book and a great story showing the difficulty of being who you are in a society where you can’t be. Where you need to put on a front.
I did enjoy it.
I couldn’t sympathise with the characters as my life is quite the polar opposite but I did feel sorry for Mungo, and sad in some places too.
I would recommend it.
3.75/5 stars.
It was almost a 4, but when certain things happened that made me stop reading, I couldn’t go higher.
Graphic: Rape and Transphobia
Moderate: Xenophobia
Minor: Addiction