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emmy621's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Drug abuse
marie's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racism, Car accident, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dorothy_the_explorothy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
pfandflasche's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Death
tacomaven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty and Animal death
davidbythebay's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
The writing is absolutely beautiful and poetic. Striking language is used and really deep themes are explored. Among the themes explored are: race, being gay, drug use and abuse, mental health, death, love. The perspective is equally interesting and nuanced.
However, I had significant issues with the overall writing style. The āpop cultureā references were a lot of the time out of nowhere and fell flat for me. I call them āpop cultureā in quotations because they are really more references to people and things we all know of in some way, like Tiger Woods. But there are also references and commonly known research into the despicable practices of pharmaceutical companies in marketing and pushing opioids. These factual tidbits fell flat. They seemed out of place even though they were concerned with the story being told.
The book is written as a letter from son to mother. I just donāt see telling my mother stories she told me and events she and I lived through in an extended letter. Nor do I really see ever telling my mother about my first boyfriend or the first time I had sex with a guy or since then. But the author does do that, though he admits his mother will likely never read this.
Parts one and two were good and kept my interest - though the more experimental and poetic stanza-type sections in part two felt gimmicky and didnāt fit or work for me. Part three is where I lost interest and grew impatient with the style and the story. It felt as though the story stalled.
My biggest issue, which is incorporated in the above issues, is that the story being told had no real plot, no real character study with how disjointed and erratic the pacing and topics could be, and felt empty. For example, his mother and grandmother both have (it seems completely untreated) PTSD that pops up several times in parts one and two, then disappears (more or less) as if they never had those issues and visions.
Iām glad I read it for its beautiful language at parts and itās perspective, but I didnāt like the style and flow. It just wasnāt for me, despite a lot of the contents being interesting.
TW: Death, Drug Abuse, Drug Use, Underage Sex, Abuse, Racism, Graphic Animal Death/Abuse
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Abortion, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
dominicangirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Drug use, and Sexual content
Moderate: Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, and Car accident
Minor: Animal death and Racism
lilkstew's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Child abuse, Chronic illness, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual content, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal death, and Abortion
gabrielab's review against another edition
- 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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, and Sexual content
sara_n's review against another edition
3.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racism, Blood, Excrement, Grief, and Car accident