Reviews tagging 'Alcoholism'

The Minus-One Club by Kekla Magoon

6 reviews

zanm's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad tense 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

4.9 rounded up.
——
Unbearably realistic at times. I felt close to tears for a majority of the book. Really really good. Probably will never read again because it just made me so damn sad and hit justttt a bit too close to home. The internalized homophobia and depiction of faith and having parents that love you but don't love you is the best I’ve ever seen. Absolute kudos to the author. 

Minor Critiques: Gets a little preachy at the end, has a few spots with questionable consent. 
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tseeman02's review

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challenging emotional 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

4.5

Heartwarming, heartbreaking, emotional, evocative, a beautiful window into teenage life struggles that many can relate to regardless of identity.  I laughed and cried and smiled.  
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econsidine's review

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This one has the honor of being the first YA book I've worked on and actually stopped to read because it was distractingly good. It's about a closeted teen (who, contrary to basically every closeted trope in fiction ever,
never comes out to his family over the course of the story
) who recently lost his older sister in a car accident. Despite the weirdly cutesy title that doesn't reflect the tone of the book, the author writes about grief, alcoholism, homophobia, religious bigotry, and depression in a down-to-earth, non-cliche way that feels like it would be actually helpful and relatable to teens who are experiencing these things, unlike a lot of similar YA books with these topics (*cough cough* 13 Reasons Why *cough*) It's the kind of book I would really have loved when I was 16 or 17, and will save to recommend if I ever have any 16- or 17-year-olds in my life. 
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kie's review against another edition

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

4.0

Overall this was a really good read but, with the exception of the last couple of pages, Kermit being Black isn't highlighted in the book. I don't think the lack of it ruined the reading experience but there were quite a few moments when I turned to look at the cover and said, "What Black kid says this to his parents?"
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barbn's review

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emotional 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

4.0

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nyertryingtoreadeverything's review

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challenging emotional 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

5.0

My bar for books written by this author is high. Some of my favorite books were written by Ms. Magoon. Still I was blown away by this book. It is incredibly intense but also digestible. I really appreciated how this book approached death and some other really heavy issues. 
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