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caleb_tankersley's review against another edition
4.0
This is a wonderful, important novel. The character are vivid and realized and surprise you with their incredibly human reactions. There's some very fancy writing in spots, which makes for a bit of slogging. But I'd say that amounts to about fifteen pages out of 300. The rest is beautifully written. I was emotionally smitten by the ending. Jimmy and Josh are truly a couple for the ages. But there were so many other interestingly drawn aspects to the novel. The Creek history. Lucille's voice. The Ozark small-towniness of the people. The inescapable pall of religion over rural gay men. God, this was just fantastic. An essential read for Queer Native studies for sure, but a great book for anyone to dive into.
moonbites's review against another edition
So, I am not going to give this one a rating because I was required to read this for a class, which added to the struggle of reading this book. However I did enjoy the discussions in class about the text, which helped me appreciate the themes and messages of the story. Yet, reading it on my own I doubt I would have interpreted the text correctly, because I couldn’t get past the writing style.
Unfortunately the story jumped around and was too convoluted for me, although I realize now that the narrative style played into the idea of native storytelling, I couldn’t appreciate this when reading on my own. I like a nice and tidy story, I like things linear, with maybe some convoluted aspects if necessary. But, the unreliable story telling lead to too many metaphors for me to piece together, and I found myself more confused than enthralled.
The book has some exciting messages, and maybe if I had more time to read this without the expectation of due dates I may have liked it more. The book does provide an important commentary on Native-Queer identity.
Unfortunately the story jumped around and was too convoluted for me, although I realize now that the narrative style played into the idea of native storytelling, I couldn’t appreciate this when reading on my own. I like a nice and tidy story, I like things linear, with maybe some convoluted aspects if necessary. But, the unreliable story telling lead to too many metaphors for me to piece together, and I found myself more confused than enthralled.
The book has some exciting messages, and maybe if I had more time to read this without the expectation of due dates I may have liked it more. The book does provide an important commentary on Native-Queer identity.
hannahntoth's review
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
tiredandspice's review against another edition
3.0
The annoying narrator award goes to Josh whathisface
ericgaryanderson's review against another edition
5.0
I reread Craig's novel and, second time around, this story about growing up gay in rural Creek Oklahoma is EVEN BETTER.
emilymckenna's review
emotional
reflective
slow-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
4.5
This book is amazing. The writing, the characters, the plot. Everything is so well crafted and thought out. I especially enjoyed the way in which time was regarded; I thought it was a really insightful and interesting contribution to an already beautiful novel. Highly recommend.
tracey1981's review
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
thedairyman's review against another edition
4.0
This book falls into the trap of many duel perspective books in that if it had stuck with the character I really enjoyed, then the book would've been 5 stars, but I really struggled to get through some of the chapters that focused on the other character so that knocked down my overall star rating.
The book was still a great read though and if you're just reading this for fun, know that each chapter is more or less self contained, so if you are struggling, I recommend skipping that chapter rather than giving up on the book entirely.
The book was still a great read though and if you're just reading this for fun, know that each chapter is more or less self contained, so if you are struggling, I recommend skipping that chapter rather than giving up on the book entirely.