Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

24 reviews

nukie19's review against another edition

emotional funny 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Grief, and Death

Moderate: Car accident and Homophobia

Minor: Drug use and Drug abuse

marinabkat's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

2.5

While moments of whimsy and insight left me laughing and crying, it’s bogged down a lot by flop jokes that just indicate how baked into Hollywood gays that diet culture is. Also, below average handling of substance use. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Eating disorder, Drug use, and Alcohol

bookishaddictions's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

I was really excited for this one, but I felt like it didn’t really sit right with me. I loved the idea of The Guncle, but I was underwhelmed in a few regards. I know, I’m in the minority here according to the Goodsread rating. While I loved Patrick’s relationship with the kids, I felt like we mainly got to know the Patrick he thought he should be rather than who he was hinted at really being. I also found the story to really emphasize stereotypes (of gay men, of poly relationships, and more). While there is nothing wrong with gay men that are stereotypically flamboyant, I didn’t care for the emphasis being placed on the more negatively viewed traits (selfishness, vanity, body image issues, etc.). At least half of the men I know consider themselves queer, and less than 10% of those men would be considered “flamboyant”. I could have got past this if we could see some of the deeper parts of Patrick or JED, but we only basically get to have those depths touched on as minimally as possible. Grant and Maisie’s characters are funny, and were quite reflective of many kids grieving experience; I just wish the whole story had the same authenticity 🤷🏼‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death

Minor: Sexual content, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Alcohol

kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-paced

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

3.5

I felt like this book was a little overhyped. I thought it was cute and had some poignant moments which were very sweet. I found the main character to be a bit pretentious and his gayness was over-exaggerated to make the story more flamboyant and colorful. The character seemed more a caricature of what it means to be a gay, white man in Hollywood/Palm Springs and that felt like an uncomfortable juxtaposition against the visceral way grief and loss was described in this novel. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Drug abuse, Cancer, Drug use, Grief, Car accident, Infidelity, Misogyny, Terminal illness, Addiction, Alcohol, Chronic illness, Classism, Death, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Medical content

susanknights's review against another edition

challenging funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Addiction, Car accident, and Drug abuse

Minor: Drug use

revengesrose's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful lighthearted 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? It's complicated

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Cancer, Car accident, Death, Cursing, and Death of parent

Minor: Alcohol, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

martachbc's review

emotional funny reflective fast-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Addiction, Cancer, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Car accident, Death, and Death of parent

Minor: Drug abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia

taelights's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Alcohol, Terminal illness, Car accident, and Grief

Moderate: Alcoholism

Minor: Drug use

spaghettireads's review against another edition

I didn't love the way Patrick talked to the kids, and expected them to know adult things. It didn't seem believable that he was that clueless about kids, and the joke seemed very repetitive already 45 pages in. There was also too much talk about body shaming, and ableist comments regarding one of the kid's lisp. Add in a few more jokes that seemed offensive and this didn't seem like something worth continuing.   

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Ableism, Drug use, Addiction, and Alcohol

annabeavo's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, and Homophobia