Reviews

Day Boy by Trent Jamieson

starslang's review against another edition

dark slow-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

2.0

textpublishing's review against another edition

5.0

"...[V]ampires, like all good monsters, are something of a blank canvas. Meanings can be projected onto them. They can be monstrous, yet elegant. They can be the night refined or crude and hungry." Trent Jamieson, 25 June 2015, Readings Blog.

See Trent Jamieson project a slick new perspective of his own on these beguiling beasts.

jm_donellan's review against another edition

5.0

A darkly lyrical coming of age story with a fascinating 'father' figure. I loved the way the novel unfolded and slowly revealed the landscape of the strange future outside the small town of Midfield. Characters that breathed with real life (kind of ironic given that half of them are dead). A great read by a fantastic Brisbane author.

frog_appreciator's review against another edition

Library loan ran out and I was travelling so couldn’t renew

pale_faced_fear's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.25

tracilynn33's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

This story takes place over the course of a year but by how much Mark the main character matures and grows, it feels like a lifetime.

A coming of age with vampires? I guess that works as a description. But it's better than that makes it sound. Maybe imagine if Holden Caulfield wasn't a complete asshat? I picked it up, ignored everything else, and it put down when I was done. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, and Gore

anothergirlanotherbook's review against another edition

5.0

I devoured this book, and yet I also did not want to finish it. From the moment I read the blurb I was hooked-if you had told me that one of my new favourite novels was an original spin on the vampire myth that takes place in a Western-esque Australian outback setting; all wrapped up in a bittersweet, coming-of-age story; that sits somewhere between contemporary and Literary fiction, I would have thought it impossible (although Let The Right One In is one of my other favourites, so probably not that much of stretch

jukebugging's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

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

3.75

klavquill's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense fast-paced

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

3.75

Loved the fluid writing style—it really felt like Mark’s steam of consciousness. However, the main flaw is that I felt certain things were missing, that there could’ve been more elaborated on within the novel. Regardless though, I liked the characters and the bits of worldbuilding we got to see. 

accidentallyinspace's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.25

Decent post-apocalyptic story with an interesting world. The author's other story in this world, The Stone Road, is much better, and I would heartily recommend that one over this. 

This book feels like it's had about 10% of it's details chopped out. Not even in a "not enough explained about the world" way, I quite like the mysterious and piecemeal world building; it feels like the actual plot is missing a very small amount of beats. Things are blamed on the main character for little to no reason, or he makes what seems to be a good decision and no one else thinks so. I dunno, maybe it's an unreliable narrator situation and I missed it, or something else.