Reviews with content warning for Sexual harassment - Release

Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

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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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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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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lucys_library's review against another edition

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challenging emotional mysterious fast-paced

4.0

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millieeharmann's review

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emotional mysterious reflective tense 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

2.5

2.5 stars because I loved half of it, and struggled with the other half. I loved Adam's story as well as his relationships. Those he held dearest to him are so easy to love and are representative of a beautiful found family where your biological family isn't.

That being said, a common thing I've noticed with Ness' writing is that he switches pov and pulls the reader out of the story. I especially noticed this with the final installment in the chaos walking trilogy, as well as this book. The side story of the faun and the queen ran completely parallel to Adam's narrative, and there was no influence over the events of either story until the final chapter. This was frustrating as the fantasy narrative had minimal context and made little sense, additionally, it seemed to only pull from some of the tensest moments in Adam's journey, cheapening the beauty of them. The story of the queen at the beginning seemed promising, however just remained flat throughout the entire story, with minimal climax.

That being said, if I were ever to reread this, I would skip the fantasy narrative completely and only read the chapters dedicated to Adam, and it would still make complete sense.

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