Reviews

Blackouts by Justin Torres

kate_cunningham's review against another edition

challenging 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

5.0

vtlism's review against another edition

emotional informative inspiring reflective 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? No

4.0

Inspiring to me in form, but lacking in the drive to continue reading when I already lack energy. 

kmerms's review against another edition

challenging funny mysterious reflective medium-paced

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

5.0

maxiehasmoxie's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

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

4.0

stephco724's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative medium-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? No

4.0

michaelkurt's review against another edition

I wanted more out of this book. From the premise, there’s a kind of promise that is kept - but I didn’t like the way the narrative handled the telling of the promise. This is a me thing for sure. But I skimmed ahead and it wasn’t worth wading through what annoyed me. Overall, I liked most of this book though. 

maddielegro's review against another edition

emotional funny reflective sad medium-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

4.5

misssleepy's review against another edition

challenging reflective sad medium-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? No

3.25

I bought this book from Downbound. I thought it looked interesting and one of the women working said it was good.

The first 2/3 of the book was really good. The ending was just kind of muddy. I am not really sure what the end of the book was trying to really say. The prose is very poetic. While it’s pretty, it often times doesn’t make sense and difficult to interpret. 

I like that this book wove history into the novel. There were real people turned into characters, explored through Juan’s story telling.

I really liked the use of found artifacts. It made the story not just feel more real but it provided a history lesson as well. I also liked the use of the footnotes but it would have been easier to read if the footnotes were throughout the novel instead of the end. The footnotes were like mini rabbit holes which I enjoyed but it also took you out of the story at times.

Overall, it was a challenging read but it was an important story. The novel is written at the intersection of Puerto Rican and LGBTQ history. It’s a portrayal of how certain histories of marginalized groups only exist through story telling and our passed down by the community.

possibleghost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.5

enbyreads's review against another edition

slow-paced

4.75