Reviews tagging 'Death'

Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage

10 reviews

arlingtonchamberofgay's review

dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

4.75

In Yes, Daddy, Jonah dances the line between rags and riches, climbing the ladder of wealth the only way that many of us working class queers can: through our bodies. Parks-Ramage does a brilliant job conveying just how quickly survivors start reasoning away the abuse in an effort to stay sane and hold on to their life. The constant internal dialogue of “i’m doing this to survive” and “this isn’t fucking normal”, back and forth, over and over again, that damaging spiral of mental turmoil that just chips away at your mental health. He also explores the way that evangelical christianity is woven into our culture and often follows us long after we’ve left, even sometimes calling us back before falling out again. 
As a trans, queer, sexual assault survivor with religious trauma and a plethora of daddy issues, this book got to me in a way I wasn’t fully expecting. But it brought words to the things that I’ve only ever kept to myself or told few friends. So thank you. Here’s to my fellow survivors. Let’s knock ‘em dead.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Rape, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Gaslighting, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Suicide, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Homophobia, Death, Drug use, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

arbramirez's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Body horror, Forced institutionalization, Murder, Pedophilia, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, Child abuse, Classism, Drug use, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Homophobia, Outing, Self harm, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Trafficking, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, and Vomit

aely's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-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

4.0

This book was extremely depressing. Jonah simply wanted to have a roof over his hand, and what happened to him was truly awful to read.

Parks-Ramage managed to write realistic characters who go through SO much trauma, with a bittersweet ending that left me feeling… complicated.

My only critique would be that the book felt so depressing and hopeless that at times it was very hard to return to the story.

Other than that, the book is a grim cautionary tale about abusive relationships and sexual assault. It was very emotional and well written. I hope that Jonah is able to live happily after the books ends. That is all.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Child abuse, Cursing, Gaslighting, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Classism, Bullying, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Addiction, Death, Murder, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, and Self harm

Minor: Body shaming, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Stalking, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Animal cruelty, Blood, Trafficking, Dementia, and Abortion

forrestalexander's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Warning: SPOILERS

I have mixed feelings about this book. I didn't know what to expect and I like the concept, but in my opinion, it didn't follow through. 

As someone else said, the book is too short to properly address the multitude of issues it presented.

The book touches on:

• a gay main character with unaccepting parents
• religious trauma
• conversion therapy and the resulting trauma
• domestic abuse, toxic and abusive relationships
• manipulation and general abuse
• rape, sexual assault, and casual sexual harassment
• drug abuse
• suicide, suicidal thoughts

& more. There aren't enough pages in the book to have us become invested in the characters and touch on all of the above topics and do them justice - instead, it half touches on all of them and is just busy and feels cluttered. It is trying to do too much at once.

Because it was trying to cram so much into each page, I wasn't invested in the characters and it made me care less about the story overall.

Also, coming from a queer man living in bushwick from somewhat similar circumstances, I hated the main character. He relied on everyone else and did nothing but pity and feel bad for himself instead of trying to do anything to change his life. He was selfish and self-centered, and how he acted in court destroyed the lives of others to the point of no return. How I am supposed to feel any level of empathy for him, or happiness when he finally sort of gets his shit together at the end, is beyond me. 

The religious trauma was a bit trite for a gay character, and I understand the second half was supposed to set it apart from other stories with similar themes - but the second half felt forced, strange, and left me weirded out. I am still not sure what the message was supposed to be, it didn't translate.

With all of that being said, I think if a few of the themes were left out and the author focused on one or two things, it could have been great. For that reason, I have no doubt the author has potential - but I hope in his next book, it feels less crammed. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Rape, and Sexual content

Moderate: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Drug abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Body shaming and Bullying

bells_shelves's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

3.5

The first half of this book was absolutely incredible. I read the first two hundred pages in one sitting. However, after the trial, a lot of the plot began to grow unbelievable and unconvincing. Some things that happened were outside of one’s character traits, or just didn’t make sense, and that pulled me out of the story. I still enjoyed it, and I think a lot of the themes and overall messages discussed in the Q&A session are especially important in reading this book, especially when it comes to understanding trauma and survivorship. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Pedophilia, Torture, Trafficking, Murder, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexual assault, Violence, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Homophobia

melanders_07's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Gaslighting, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Trafficking, Religious bigotry, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Emotional abuse, Drug abuse, Death, and Alcohol

Minor: Violence and Stalking

conversion therapy

deezy's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

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

dark medium-paced

0.25

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Content Warnings

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

danielghurst's review

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage tells the story of Jonah, a young, gay, aspiring playwright in New York, who, like so many young artists in New York, is in a desperate financial situation. With painstaking precision, he leverages his youth and sex appeal for a shortcut to New York theatre's inner circle and gets much more than he anticipated. What starts as a dream scenario soon takes a dark turn that will have far-reaching consequences.

After a chilling prologue, Yes, Daddy takes the reader on a brooding and often brutal thrill ride. The clever narrative device and the heaviness of the language draw the reader into this world of desperation, sexual tension, and power plays. The first half of the book breezes by in a whirl of eerie events, odd characters, unabashed gayness, sexuality, and brutality, at times verging on camp.

The second half is more of a surprise. Several years later, Jonah has a more personal reckoning with what happened to him in the first half of the book, the others involved, and the childhood traumas that led him into such a dire situation. Mostly absent of thrills, the rest of the book moves more slowly and delves into societal critique around social media, mental health, religion, sexuality, and rape culture, particularly in regards to the gay community. Expect a more human story tinged with both despair and hope.

Non-exhaustive list of content warnings: rape, physical violence, underage drinking, sexual assault, kidnapping, infidelity, drug use, cruelty to animals, suicide, suicidal ideation, religious fanaticism

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Adult/minor relationship, Fire/Fire injury, Kidnapping, Rape, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Alcohol, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Blood, Confinement, Infidelity, Pedophilia, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, Suicide, Death, Violence, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Cursing

bookmarkedbya's review

challenging dark tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Homophobia, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, and Violence