Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

53 reviews

oxfordcommas91's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

I truly loved Steven Rowley’s “The Celebrants” so wanted to give this one a try upon recommendation from a friend. It wasn’t nearly as satisfying as The Celebrants but kept me busy for a few days. While the kids were delightful, I think I missed some of the charm that their gay uncle (“Guncle”) was supposed to bring to the table. His life felt a bit difficult to relate to and disconnected from the storyline happening. Nonetheless, a nice story about grief and finding/discovering joy in unlikely places. There was a lot of heart in this book and a fair amount of laugh out loud moments, but I wasn’t as invested in this story as I would have liked to be!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Alcohol, and Death

Moderate: Drug abuse, Cancer, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, and Terminal illness

Minor: Drug use

timetotalkbeauty's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent, Cancer, and Terminal illness

Minor: Death and Car accident

aoifeprettypurplepolkadots's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cancer, Drug abuse, Terminal illness, Police brutality, Death, and Death of parent

kbojan's review against another edition

funny medium-paced

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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Death of parent

Moderate: Homophobia

Minor: Terminal illness, Sexual harassment, and Drug abuse

blueyogi's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Death, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Alcohol, Death of parent, Cursing, and Car accident

Minor: Addiction and Drug use

embee09's review against another edition

emotional hopeful medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Cursing

Moderate: Death, Alcohol, Addiction, and Terminal illness

sannesbooks's review against another edition

emotional funny lighthearted 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

3.0

Cute story about a somewhat famous gay uncle (Guncle) taking care of his niece and nephew after their mother passed away, besides their mother was also the Guncle's best friend. So, grief is a big part of the story. 
There are also a lot of celebrity and pop culture references, so that's nice if you are into that. I am into that as well, but did not understand all of the references. A big part of this book is set in LA / California, because of this setting, this book is especially nice to read in the summer. 

It was nice to see how the Guncle warms up slowely to these kids. I also liked that the Guncle talked to the kids like an adult insteaf of baby talk. Grief is something they all three have in common and it was beautifully handled in the story. Even though grief is a big part of the books it is still a lighthearted, funny, easy read. 'Nothing' really happens in this books, it's just vibes. Maybe because of this I found it a bit hard to read fast. I even took a long break from reading it. There is nothing particularly wrong with the book, so I don't know why this took me quite long. I think I personally just was not captivated enough by the characters, but that doesn't mean you won't fall in love with the characters (as many did).

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Death of parent, Death, Cancer, and Terminal illness

nitar8's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny inspiring reflective sad tense 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? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Addiction, Alcohol, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Cancer, Car accident, Death of parent, Cursing, and Terminal illness

jj_tj's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective 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: Death of parent, Terminal illness, and Grief

Minor: Cancer, Homophobia, and Car accident

sareidle's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, and Terminal illness