Reviews with content warning for Homophobia - Release

Reviews tagging 'Homophobia'

Release by Patrick Ness

37 reviews

zluke's review against another edition

emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

Wow. Absolutely stunning, beautiful book. The two narratives wove together in an unusual interesting way. Adam's relationships with his family and self were so brilliantly explored. I've never read something which so accurately captures the way religious homophobia can affect LGBT young people. It's also refreshing to read a YA book which doesn't shy away from sex and teenage lust.

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zickcantkill's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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2shadowsdeep's review against another edition

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emotional reflective medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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canonically_k's review against another edition

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challenging emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad 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

4.5

Mix of boy pov and that of a spirit navigating closure.

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hayleythegoose's review

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adventurous challenging hopeful sad fast-paced

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

2.5

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conspystery's review

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dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book felt all the way through like a simultaneous act of defiance and of ultimate self-acceptance. True to its main character, it was prodigal, and I loved it.

The writing itself is beautiful-- as other reviews have said, it definitely evoked Woolf in a stunning, contemporary way (and nodded directly to her a few times, which I much appreciated!) The writing winds around the events of the narrative with the same kind of exhausted assurance the story demands, allowing the reader to feel the weight of time with Adam as the story and day goes on. In the abstract, parallel sections with the faun and the Queen, the writing seemed to occupy its own liminal space, playing with urgency just as the Queen seems to. It was compelling.

This book tells a story about identity and self-acceptance and love, as well as one about defiance and justice and unfairness-- facets of these issues are explored in different capacities between the two plotlines of Adam and the spirit dimension. Most of the narrative draw, though, comes from Adam’s story. He struggles to come to terms with the reality of his situation, which weighs down on him throughout the piece: his feelings for Enzo and Linus, how to define family, what value he allows himself to feel he has, how to reconcile his self-worth in the face of intolerance, and what the breaking point of love is. A flawed but deeply good person, with an introspective drive to be true to himself guiding his actions over the course of the day the novel spans. His relationships with his family, his best friend, his ex, and his boyfriend are all painted with his search for genuine self-understanding and how his actions impact the people around him, and therefore all of them are sophisticated and full of depth. Not to mention the individuality-- every character in this novel feels like a fully-fledged person. I loved Angela especially, how her presence in Adam’s life was so vibrant and important, and how that cruciality was reflected with narrative weight.

I had a few problems with this book: at times, the connection between the two storylines felt unclear theme-wise, and the faun and Queen’s section was a bit far-out with its abstraction for me. It wasn’t a dealbreaker, though, and the dissonance was resolved at the end in a way I felt was satisfyingly recontextualizing. I also had qualms with how graphic the book could get at points, but this is moreso a matter of personal preference, and I think the graphic nature of the scenes was necessary to communicate their themes.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. The dreamlike, or nightmare-like, story of the faun and the Queen was a good counterbalance to the rooted reality of Adam’s plotline, which confronted the struggle for self-definition and acceptance in the face of society’s expectations with a thoughtful, emotional perspective. There are layers and layers and layers to this book-- intricate theological references, the parallels between stories, the different kinds of love explored-- but at its core it addresses the simple question of when to let go: of love, of unfairness, of family, of self-hate, and of inhibitions. It does so beautifully.

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nannahnannah's review

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3.0

I love Patrick Ness, which is why I checked this book out, despite not enjoying one of the books this one is inspired by (Mrs. Dalloway by Virginia Woolf)--and not being familiar with the other (Forever ... by Judy Blume). I definitely enjoyed this more than Mrs. Dalloway, but I think it might be one of my least favorite Ness novels.

Release takes place in a single day, probably one of the most emotionally challenging days of Adam Thorn's life. He's the (closeted) gay son of a conservative preacher in a small town ... kind of a nightmare. On top of that, he has to go to his ex's going-away party (who he's not completely over), later that night, fight with his feelings for his current boyfriend (is this real? or do I want to want to love him more than I actually love him? etc.), and deal with sexual harassment from his boss at work.

There's also a second story going on. A girl (who was murdered at the same lake Adam's ex's going-away party is taking place at) has been resurrected with the spirit of a non-specific deity called the Queen. The girl is on a journey to find her murderer and ... do something. But apparently disturbing the Queen can have disastrous consequences on the world.

If these stories sound a bit disjointed, they kind of read that way too. They eventually do come together at the end, but I'm still not sure what the Queen's presence really was or who she is or why she existed in the first place.

Adam's story, though, is beautiful. And incredibly relatable. Patrick Ness always has that way of writing stories that brings out a real, genuine voice, and it shines here too. I just wish there was more of it and less of the Queen business -- or maybe I just didn't understand it and where the two stories intersected.

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tiramisucker_'s review

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dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

3.5

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canonically_k's review

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emotional reflective 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

3.25

Didnt really get how the second pov linked fully to the story. Book about introspection, relationships. Tone was spot on, humorous but heartbreakingly insightful into personal insecurities and issues.

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coolra's review

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dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

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

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