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bluehairedlibrarian's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
With that said, this book is dark and traumatic, but the writing quality kept me reading despite the horrors on the page. Jonah is a compelling narrator and I sympathized with him while also thinking he was a complete idiot at times. The situations he got himself into could be excused by his naivete and Midwestern religious upbringing, but at the same time, he was incredibly naïve. He's also a very unreliable narrator, but I liked the framework that is revealed later on in the book. I thought it a bit strange for it suddenly to revolve around his non-relationship with a side character, and the ending felt strange and little forced.
I can't say I enjoyed this book, but I don't regret finishing it either. It's difficult and does not fall under the Gothic Horror trope at all. It's a difficult read, but a mostly well-written one.
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Torture
samuaint's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, and Physical abuse
Minor: Child abuse, Drug use, and Alcoholism
dylandarezzo's review
Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, and Pedophilia
deezy's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Trafficking
nicsnovellife's review against another edition
0.25
Graphic: Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gaslighting, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Torture, Trafficking, Violence, Rape, and Self harm
axiliea's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Rape, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Hate crime, Homophobia, and Incest
kloft1993's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
Minor: Incest
apersonfromflorida's review
- 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
4.0
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Suicide
Minor: Child abuse
jonathanlynch's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
When I first heard about Yes, Daddy, I was intrigued because the summary reminded me of Ryan Murphy's mini-series, Hollywood. Specifically the abusive relationship between Rock Hudson and his agent. On that front, I was not disappointed at all. It's exactly about that, echoing a very real and dark reality many young people in the entertainment industry continue to face today.
In the age of the Me Too Movement, we are more aware than ever of the toxic power structures our institutions are founded on. Typically and not surprisingly, power-hungry white men abuse the power they are given to oppress and abuse others. The presence of this theme is undeniable in this book and trust me when I say, it gets heavy. There were many moments throughout reading this that I had to set my book down to remember to breathe and continually run my hand through my hair (it's a nervous habit).
Parks-Ramage is a promising debut author and this being his first novel, I am thoroughly impressed. He created a nuanced protagonist in struggling writer Jonah, who was no where near perfect, but someone you could root for and empathize with. He also created an all too convincing villain in successful playwright Richard, who, on top of being an evil pig, was the king of gaslighting and manipulation to the extent that even I felt gaslighted and manipulated.
Trauma played a pivotal role in this book. I'll be the first to admit that I sometimes think authors give their characters too much to handle. Especially queer characters. I saw this in A Little Life and more recently for me, Cleanness. This book does not escape from that, but this felt more purposeful and had something important to say. Jonah held his umbrella high to try to protect himself from the many forms of trauma he experienced throughout his young life. His Evangelical upbringing was triggering for me in a way I was not expecting. I don't doubt any queer person who reads this book will feel triggered at one point or another.
***I do want to emphasize the current trend in queer lit where gay protagonists perpetually suffer and are set up for destructive behaviors and decision making. Every queer person has a story to tell and a lot of the time, trauma is going to be a part of that story because of the way society enforces its code on all of us. However, I would like to see authors portray more healthy queer adult love stories every now and then... but that's neither here nor there.***
I also appreciated that the author highlighted the media's faults and weaknesses toward the end of this book and the type of toxicity that can exist on social media in reaction to some very hard and complicated themes. I wish that was a bigger part of it.
Most of the book was written as a quasi autobiography, or a letter written to someone else. There was a moment the plot teetered on the cusp of horror and it felt like I was descending into a queer version of a Jordan Peele film. Though that moment was short lived, it was the part of the book that had me flipping through its pages the fastest.
At times, rushed with clunky dialogue, at other times, extremely unputdownable. Overall, I really enjoyed this book and I can't wait to see what comes next from this author.
Thank you to the publishers, Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, for sending me an ARC through a Goodreads giveaway !
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Moderate: Blood
Minor: Incest and Suicide