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econsidine's review
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Car accident, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
booknerdkc's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kerasalwaysreading's review against another edition
5.0
This was exactly what I thought it was going to be. This is a look into the faces of grief and loss through not only our protagonist, but many others throughout the book.
I was moved by the powerful messages in The Minus One Club from Kekla Magoon on topics of loss, healing, and faith. Everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently and she has demonstrated that incredibly here. Kermit, our protagonist is dealing with the loss of his sister and he is approached by a secret club of kids at school who have all met loss like his. They show each other that sometimes you need to be around people who get it without pressure of talking about it.
The character dynamics in this book were so real. Between Kermit and his parents. Between Kermit and the boy he REALLY likes. Between he and his sister, who is a pretty big presence in the book (which I loved).
This was fantastic and heartbreaking, but also really special. I’m so glad I read it.
I was moved by the powerful messages in The Minus One Club from Kekla Magoon on topics of loss, healing, and faith. Everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently and she has demonstrated that incredibly here. Kermit, our protagonist is dealing with the loss of his sister and he is approached by a secret club of kids at school who have all met loss like his. They show each other that sometimes you need to be around people who get it without pressure of talking about it.
The character dynamics in this book were so real. Between Kermit and his parents. Between Kermit and the boy he REALLY likes. Between he and his sister, who is a pretty big presence in the book (which I loved).
This was fantastic and heartbreaking, but also really special. I’m so glad I read it.
devinjm12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
louismunozjr's review against another edition
4.0
Very much enjoyed this book. I'd rate it closer to 4.5 stars. Super readable and relatable. Perhaps one or two false, or false-ish notes, but nothing too outrageous. I was definitely engaged from the first page(s), and would recommend this book to a wide variety of readers. Some things DON'T get resolved, neatly or otherwise, which I especially liked, appreciated, and found believable.
readingtheend's review
3.0
Kekla Magoon is so great and so tender. I love her. This is a book about teenagers who have lost someone in their life, and they get together to talk about everything except that loss. I loved this premise and loved how clearly the book shows that it's not adaptive to live in the silence all the time.
mooped_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
karissayoung's review against another edition
3.0
Premise: Following the death of his sister, Kermit Sanders is invited to the Minus-One Club – a moral support group comprising a number of classmates who share the experience of having lost a loved one.
This was a good read that could be really impactful for a specific group of adolescents going through similar hardships. It’s a heavy and emotional book that explores loss, grief, bullying, sexuality, homophobia, religion, and much more. I feel like there is a very long list of content warnings associated with this story – so many that it can seem messy, but in all honesty, adolescence and coming-of-age are just messy periods of life.
While I didn’t fully connect with this story, it did tug at my heartstrings and I did appreciate the character construction. If I ever come across a student struggling with similar challenges, I will definitely recommend this story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Kekla Magoon for this ARC of The Minus-One Club.
This was a good read that could be really impactful for a specific group of adolescents going through similar hardships. It’s a heavy and emotional book that explores loss, grief, bullying, sexuality, homophobia, religion, and much more. I feel like there is a very long list of content warnings associated with this story – so many that it can seem messy, but in all honesty, adolescence and coming-of-age are just messy periods of life.
While I didn’t fully connect with this story, it did tug at my heartstrings and I did appreciate the character construction. If I ever come across a student struggling with similar challenges, I will definitely recommend this story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Kekla Magoon for this ARC of The Minus-One Club.
kie's review against another edition
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?"
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Death, Death of parent, Alcoholism, and Homophobia
Moderate: Violence
domiri's review against another edition
emotional
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.0