Scan barcode
briannap's review
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
reflective
fast-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
3.75
gdubbz's review
3.0
Spoiler
The best way I can describe this book is that it reads like a post on r/thathappened. Ricky is kind of an ass the whole time, but maybe that’s the point? Not a lot of conflicts get resolved. Any time you want Ricky to do something to show that he’s grown since the beginning of the book, he doesn’t. The climax of the book is really just a continuation of Ricky being too concerned with what high school students think of him. This book would’ve been actually great if there was some reason why Ricky was an unreliable narrator, if we got a look into how his mom or Frankie or Pilgrim perceived him, but we didn’t and Ricky was just a douche the whole time. And then everybody clapped.spacebras's review
4.0
I saw this on a list of Nebraskan authors and thought to give it a shot. I don't do super well with "man-lit", but Kwak does an extraordinary job of displaying toxic masculinity without actually disparaging women.
Go Home, Ricky! It is a fresh take on masculinity that I've never seen before! No matter Ricky's intentions, his anger and impulsions always win out. And his general directionlessness in life leads him exactly there.
Most of the negativity i see in the reviews is how much they hate Ricky. I don't think you're supposed to really like him! But he's learning to grow and take a deep breath (even though we really don't see this growth come to fruition), you're rooting for him to get his shit together cause he's not a bad dude. He's just got some insane impulse control issues. But the groundwork is set for him to get better and be better.
Also I'd go a little nuts in his situation too!
Go Home, Ricky! It is a fresh take on masculinity that I've never seen before! No matter Ricky's intentions, his anger and impulsions always win out. And his general directionlessness in life leads him exactly there.
Most of the negativity i see in the reviews is how much they hate Ricky. I don't think you're supposed to really like him! But he's learning to grow and take a deep breath (even though we really don't see this growth come to fruition), you're rooting for him to get his shit together cause he's not a bad dude. He's just got some insane impulse control issues. But the groundwork is set for him to get better and be better.
Also I'd go a little nuts in his situation too!
circlebeing's review
The “witty” dialogue is dreadfully unfunny and I simply didn’t care what happened to Ricky; the stakes were not high enough and I just didn’t know the guy. I’m the type to finish everything but I realized this book was keeping me from reading more interesting/informative/helpful stuff, so I had to shelve it. Sorry, Ricky! Your cover is A+ anyhow.
bsap's review
Was really surprised by all of the positive reviews. I could not get into any of the characters (except the mom…could we have more of her story??) and the plot felt disjointed and I couldn’t sit through the main character continuing to be shitty to the people who love him!!
servemethesky's review
5.0
Wow! This book took me by surprise. I absolutely loved it! At first, I struggled to get into it. I'm not a big wrestling fan so I didn't know how this book would go for me. It's not a book about wrestling at all, and it will take you by surprise over and over.
What Kwak does best is voice. Ricky's voice leaps off the page, and is totally hilarious. His observations are so funny and spot-on. I also loved that Ricky doesn't quite learn. He keeps fucking up. But you keep rooting for him! From his internal monologue, you can tell he has a good heart. He's not actively trying to harm anyone. There's a bit of growth, but not so much that it's not believable.
Many lines had me laughing out loud and reading them to my husband. Definitely pick up this book if you're looking for something different that will stick with you!
What Kwak does best is voice. Ricky's voice leaps off the page, and is totally hilarious. His observations are so funny and spot-on. I also loved that Ricky doesn't quite learn. He keeps fucking up. But you keep rooting for him! From his internal monologue, you can tell he has a good heart. He's not actively trying to harm anyone. There's a bit of growth, but not so much that it's not believable.
Many lines had me laughing out loud and reading them to my husband. Definitely pick up this book if you're looking for something different that will stick with you!