Reviews tagging 'Grief'

The Reckless Kind by Carly Heath

6 reviews

stormeno's review against another edition

adventurous emotional medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Abandonment, Acephobia/Arophobia, Bullying, Classism, and Death of parent

Minor: Animal cruelty

xangemthelibrarian's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful 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

5.0

"Some do what's right, some do what they're told. I've been doing what I'm told for far too long." - Jørgen

This book is one I've been wanting to read since it was published, and I kept putting it off in favor of other things. It interested me because the blurb hints at a potential poly relationship, and that is so rarely seen in YA literature. This is even better than that. 

This is a story of an entire generation reckoning with the harmful ideology of their hometown. Gunner and Erlend are gay. Asta is Ace. And the beautiful thing about this story is how they become family. The journey each of these three teens take to understand themselves and take charge of their own happiness is so touching. Then they find out it's NOT just the three of them against the world. They find almost as many allies as they do enemies in this town. 

I loved the piety vs. sin theme that colored the backdrop of this historical fiction. Christianity destroyed so much in Europe by creating a system where any Outsider was going to hell. This town condemned an entire family because they did not follow the church. 

Very slight spoilers ahead:

And the most perfect thing of all that this story does not end wrapped up nearly in a bow. Many of the characters here are disabled or end up with injuries that impact their daily routines. They don't magically heal. Other characters struggle with mental health issues. Those don't magically cure either. The religion doesn't automatically leave the town because a few teens decided they weren't going to submit to it.

It ended realistically, and it was perfect.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Classism, Medical trauma, and Mental illness

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders and Sexual content

Minor: Animal cruelty and Transphobia

kirstenf's review

adventurous challenging emotional hopeful inspiring sad medium-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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Ableism, and Homophobia

Moderate: Violence, Blood, Physical abuse, Grief, Ableism, Sexism, Medical trauma, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual content, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Transphobia and Vomit

carolined314's review

emotional inspiring sad medium-paced

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

4.0

A story of queer, found family in 1904, with lots of learning to love one's self despite all kinds of flaws and faults.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia and Violence

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Car accident, Xenophobia, Sexism, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, and Grief

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

quinnyquinnquinn's review

adventurous emotional inspiring medium-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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Ableism, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Alcoholism, Religious bigotry, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Grief, Animal death, and Death of parent

Minor: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, and Child abuse

cobwebshelves's review

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-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

2.0

"Maybe this is the nature of adulthood," Fuglestad considered. "Coffee and headaches. Parts that stop working." 

Norway is very near and dear to me. I used to learn the language. It's still one of my dream countries to visit. So a historical fiction, set in Norway, with LGBTQ+ characters? That should've been perfect for me. So it broke my heart that I couldn't love it.

It's 1904, and the Fuglestad family is struck by tragedy. Two brothers, Gunnar and Fred, are severely injured in an accident. Their mother, Sigrid, dies. Gunnar's best friend Asta and boyfriend Erlend all come together to escape societal expectations and religious influences, to build a little family of their own and save Gunnar's home by finding a way to win the biggest event of the year - the Christmas horse race.

This book had some lovely moments of prose. It had sparks. The queer representation was lovely. The disabilities the characters live with don't magically disappear at the end. All these details I'm very appreciative of.

But for me, the pacing was the biggest problem. The first fifty pages are so fast you get a whiplash from everything that's happening. Then by the middle, it slows to a halt. And once you get to the final page, the epilogue feels like an afterthought.

I wish Gunnar had been a POV character. The back and forth between Asta and Erlend's POVs started to feel samey, especially when it stopped being Asta-Erlend and it was two or three chapters of just Asta-Asta-Asta in a row.

The side characters felt underdeveloped. I felt nothing for Mauritz or Oskar, or any of the names listed in the last paragraph. They were there to move the plot along, and I saw no true bond between them and the main trio.

The religious conflict got very uncomfortable at times, especially with the rampant homophobia that the townspeople shared.

Another reviewer I saw called it a trauma lasagna. And it really did feel like it. Tragedy after tragedy, in a very short amount of time, to the point where it got exhausting. I honestly feel that knowing from the getgo the kind of ending it'll have ruined it for me as well. At one point, during the race, one particular event that should've had emotional impact, only had me rolling my eyes. It could've done without the double physical injury for one person and the double concussion for the other. I know we all like torturing our characters sometimes, but that was a lot even by my standards.

There were good things in here. And it'll find its target audience. Unfortunately, it wasn't me.

Thank you to Soho Press and Netgalley for the early access. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Blood, Body horror, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Vomit

Moderate: Sexual content and Suicidal thoughts

"Maybe this is the nature of adulthood," Fuglestad considered. "Coffee and headaches. Parts that stop working." Norway is very near and dear to me. I used to learn the language. It's still one of my dream countries to visit. So a historical fiction, set in Norway, with LGBTQ+ characters? That should've been perfect for me. So it broke my heart that I couldn't love it. It's 1904, and the Fuglestad family is struck by tragedy. Two brothers, Gunnar and Fred, are severely injured in an accident. Their mother, Sigrid, dies. Gunnar's best friend Asta and boyfriend Erlend all come together to escape societal expectations and religious influences, to build a little family of their own and save Gunnar's home by finding a way to win the biggest event of the year - the Christmas horse race. This book had some lovely moments of prose. It had sparks. The queer representation was lovely. The disabilities the characters live with don't magically disappear at the end. All these details I'm very appreciative of. But for me, the pacing was the biggest problem. The first fifty pages are so fast you get a whiplash from everything that's happening. Then by the middle, it slows to a halt. And once you get to the final page, the epilogue feels like an afterthought. I wish Gunnar had been a POV character. The back and forth between Asta and Erlend's POVs started to feel samey, especially when it stopped being Asta-Erlend and it was two or three chapters of just Asta-Asta-Asta in a row. The side characters felt underdeveloped. I felt nothing for Mauritz or Oskar, or any of the names listed in the last paragraph. They were there to move the plot along, and I saw no true bond between them and the main trio. The religious conflict got very uncomfortable at times, especially with the rampant homophobia that the townspeople shared. Another reviewer I saw called it a trauma lasagna. And it really did feel like it. Tragedy after tragedy, in a very short amount of time, to the point where it got exhausting. I honestly feel that knowing from the getgo the kind of ending it'll have ruined it for me as well. At one point, during the race, one particular event that should've had emotional impact, only had me rolling my eyes.

It could've done without the double physical injury for one person and the double concussion for the other

. I know we all like torturing our characters sometimes, but that was a lot even by my standards. There were good things in here. And it'll find its target audience. Unfortunately, it wasn't me. Thank you to Soho Press and Netgalley for the early access.