Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

27 reviews

packedjam's review against another edition

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dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

is this a terrible book? no, but i can't say i would particularly recommend it to anyone. so.
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sharoniously's review against another edition

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dark emotional sad slow-paced
  • 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? Yes

2.5

There are sections of the book that are beautiful and could be thier own book. But the in-between is boring,  badly paced and the ending was deeply unsatisfactory. 
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taelights's review against another edition

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I wasn't vibing with the story and whenever I don't vibe I'll read reviews to see if it's worth continuing. Some reviews mentioned a rape scene so yikes I'm stopping here. 
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acarter's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

I loved parts of this book, but it ultimately fell flat to me. The metaphors are a bit turgid by the end, and I found the most troubling moments of sexuality went uninterrogated.  
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herk's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious slow-paced
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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carolinefaireymeese's review against another edition

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dark mysterious medium-paced
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

Hudson has and hasn't succeeded in equal measure portraying an Alabama where labels and religion and self-definition do and do not define everyone. By this, I mean that I (a South Carolinian) know well a queer South Carolina, an antiracist and diverse South Carolina, and a South Carolina with a dangerous, xenophobic, racist religious fervor. In Hudson's book, the fault lines of these countries edge and shake each other through proximity, which is somehow true and not true.

Max's perspective was essential. As another reviewer pointed out, his foreignness allowed for a closeness to the subject of poison-drinking and snake-eating religion that Pan's perspective wouldn't have brought. Growing up near a dangerous cult is one thing; being entranced by it is another.

I wanted more agency from Max, though. Until the very last pages, he effortlessly bridged the two Alabamas he inhabited with no consequences, with no thought to the future or his desires from it. Pan treated him terribly, to be sure, and he was taken advantage of by the entire football team as a new convert.

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simonamiller's review against another edition

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

4.5

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