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tmledvina's review
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I don't know how to describe how I feel about this book.
It's wholly uncomfortable at times, because it digs very deeply into the AIDS crisis of the 1980's & 90's. Because it shows the horrible and rampant racism and homophobia of the early 90's America. Because it doesn't shy away from showing the ugly truth.
I was viscerally uncomfortable at certain plot points in this book, not because they were poorly handled, but because they were expertly done. They were meant to make you uncomfortable.
I didn't expect that coming into this book, but god I am so glad I got it. A great read.
Only losing a .5 star because there were a few weird jumps in the narrative that felt like whiplash, but really they were easy enough to ignore.
It's wholly uncomfortable at times, because it digs very deeply into the AIDS crisis of the 1980's & 90's. Because it shows the horrible and rampant racism and homophobia of the early 90's America. Because it doesn't shy away from showing the ugly truth.
I was viscerally uncomfortable at certain plot points in this book, not because they were poorly handled, but because they were expertly done. They were meant to make you uncomfortable.
I didn't expect that coming into this book, but god I am so glad I got it. A great read.
Only losing a .5 star because there were a few weird jumps in the narrative that felt like whiplash, but really they were easy enough to ignore.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Outing, Violence, Homophobia, Racism, Transphobia, Murder, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Deadnaming
morgankailackerman's review against another edition
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
5.0
Although the pacing was weird at times, this book was amazing. When people say that fantasy is fluff, I want to show them this book. It was so meaningful, creative? And empowering. A beauitful symbol to talk about AIDS, gay identities, homophobia, and so much more. This is a book to reread over and over.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Death, Homophobia, and Sexual assault
Moderate: Deadnaming, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Toxic relationship
pkc's review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-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? No
5.0
I thought this might be a spooky witchy occult book, which it was in lots of ways, but it was also a gorgeous found family queer story set at a time when such found families were looked up derisively. The book is set in 1991, while America and the world still reels from the impact of AIDS at Blackfriars School for boys in the fictional town of Adders Lair in Massachusetts. It was a book that was shocking, scary, joyful, funny, sexy. Any superlative you can think of probably applies here.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug use, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Violence
bookishpriest's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
funny
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, Racism, Homophobia, and Violence
Moderate: Outing, Kidnapping, Abandonment, Transphobia, Murder, and Vomit
Minor: Sexual violence, Sexual content, Adult/minor relationship, Suicide, and Classism
tiredcath's review
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
mysterious
tense
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
5.0
Set in the 90s, the story follows three boys as they attend a prestige boarding school, attend a secret society, and get involved in something they never could imagine.
From the start, I was completely enchanted by this book. Andy Mientus has a fantastic voice, his writing style is gripping and honest. Each character has a unique voice and story to tell, all intertwining with each other with ease. Fraternity quickly climbed up my favorite reads of this year within minutes of reading.
Fraternity takes on many hats; classism, occults, the AIDs crisis, sexuality, bullying, homophobia, and racism- I could go on but won't for the sake of remaining spoiler free. The point is as interesting as the plot is, what's going on in between really made me love this story. The first half of the novel is much lighter in comparison to the second. Mientus paints the picture of the anxiety and fear of that time period without dreading the reader, as much as he shows pain, he shows joy. There's an especially beautiful part in one of Daniel's chapters that really hits that feeling home.
There's some surprise body horror, touching moments, loads of mystery, and gorgeously frightening imagery. Mientus knew what kind of story he wanted to tell and he told that story perfectly. Zooey, Daniel, Leo, and Steven will stay with me for a long time. I cannot praise this book enough. Cannot praise Andy Mientus' writing enough. I will be first in line for whatever he plans next.
About the audiobook: I was so pleased to hear all three boys have different narrators. Each of them gave the characters life. If you're planning on reading this I really recommend the audiobook.
Queer horror is such an important genre, for so many reasons but mostly so stories like these can be told.
Thank you, NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
From the start, I was completely enchanted by this book. Andy Mientus has a fantastic voice, his writing style is gripping and honest. Each character has a unique voice and story to tell, all intertwining with each other with ease. Fraternity quickly climbed up my favorite reads of this year within minutes of reading.
Fraternity takes on many hats; classism, occults, the AIDs crisis, sexuality, bullying, homophobia, and racism- I could go on but won't for the sake of remaining spoiler free. The point is as interesting as the plot is, what's going on in between really made me love this story. The first half of the novel is much lighter in comparison to the second. Mientus paints the picture of the anxiety and fear of that time period without dreading the reader, as much as he shows pain, he shows joy. There's an especially beautiful part in one of Daniel's chapters that really hits that feeling home.
There's some surprise body horror, touching moments, loads of mystery, and gorgeously frightening imagery. Mientus knew what kind of story he wanted to tell and he told that story perfectly. Zooey, Daniel, Leo, and Steven will stay with me for a long time. I cannot praise this book enough. Cannot praise Andy Mientus' writing enough. I will be first in line for whatever he plans next.
About the audiobook: I was so pleased to hear all three boys have different narrators. Each of them gave the characters life. If you're planning on reading this I really recommend the audiobook.
Queer horror is such an important genre, for so many reasons but mostly so stories like these can be told.
Thank you, NetGalley for this arc in exchange for my honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death of parent, Violence, Homophobia, Outing, Bullying, Sexual assault, and Blood
ditten's review
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
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? Yes
3.75
Fraternity is a queer dark academia book set in an all-boys boarding school in the 90s. We follow three boys, Zooey, Daniel, and Leo as they start their sophomore year at Blackfriars which will turn out to change all of their lives for good.
The book basically has two storylines/narratives that run concurrently and are linked: a search for and struggle with identity and the paranormal. The POV shifts between Zooey, Daniel, and Leo throughout the book as they tell the story of what happened at Blackfriars.
Heads up: Make sure you read the author's note and content/trigger warnings as this is set in the early 1990s and the vocabulary and setting reflect this.
All three boys are members of the Blackfriar secret gay society The Viscious Circle, and they're all trying to keep their sexuality hidden from most of their peers as being out isn't a feasible option in a school in the 90s where most students appear homophobic and/or racist. They all are attempting, with various levels of success, to fly below the radar and just get through school unscathed and mostly unnoticed.
Zooey is a recent transfer student who had to leave his previous school after he wasgroomed by his male teacher and afterwards was relentlessly bullied. He carries great shame about what happened, thinking he was at fault and he is also struggling with figuring out and coming to terms with his sexuality, as well as being half Asian and white-passing.
Daniel is a black student jock whose family is "new money" in a school of mainly white kids who think "old money" is the only acceptable way of being rich. His father especially has always put a lot of pressure on Daniel to remember that average or decent isn't ever good enough, and Daniel fears he can never tell his family he's secretly in love with his roommate.
Leo, Daniel's roommate and boyfriend, is too flamboyant to be able to hide from the school bullies. Leo only got into Blackfriars because his father was a legacy as his family isn't rich or influential. He was raised by a single mother, his father having passed away before Leo was born, and while not growing up with wealth, Leo did grow up with a loving and supporting mother. He's generally confident in his skin but when the verbal taunts turn to physical beatings, he knows something needs to change.
This is where the paranormal comes in. They find a book that's supposedly magic and try a spell that makes Leo "invisible" and thus stops the bullying and harassment he's been facing. The boys quickly learn that doing magic has consequences but when Leo's past is discovered by the school bullies, they have to figure out if the risks that come with using the book are maybe worth dealing with one more time.
From here the plot unravels a little but it also gets even harder to put the book down (or in my case, turn off the audiobook) and I found Fraternity a really intriguing read.
The audiobook is great, different narrators are used for each boy so the dual POV works really well.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
The book basically has two storylines/narratives that run concurrently and are linked: a search for and struggle with identity and the paranormal. The POV shifts between Zooey, Daniel, and Leo throughout the book as they tell the story of what happened at Blackfriars.
Heads up: Make sure you read the author's note and content/trigger warnings as this is set in the early 1990s and the vocabulary and setting reflect this.
All three boys are members of the Blackfriar secret gay society The Viscious Circle, and they're all trying to keep their sexuality hidden from most of their peers as being out isn't a feasible option in a school in the 90s where most students appear homophobic and/or racist. They all are attempting, with various levels of success, to fly below the radar and just get through school unscathed and mostly unnoticed.
Zooey is a recent transfer student who had to leave his previous school after he was
Daniel is a black student jock whose family is "new money" in a school of mainly white kids who think "old money" is the only acceptable way of being rich. His father especially has always put a lot of pressure on Daniel to remember that average or decent isn't ever good enough, and Daniel fears he can never tell his family he's secretly in love with his roommate.
Leo, Daniel's roommate and boyfriend, is too flamboyant to be able to hide from the school bullies. Leo only got into Blackfriars because his father was a legacy as his family isn't rich or influential. He was raised by a single mother, his father having passed away before Leo was born, and while not growing up with wealth, Leo did grow up with a loving and supporting mother. He's generally confident in his skin but when the verbal taunts turn to physical beatings, he knows something needs to change.
This is where the paranormal comes in. They find a book that's supposedly magic and try a spell that makes Leo "invisible" and thus stops the bullying and harassment he's been facing. The boys quickly learn that doing magic has consequences but when Leo's past is discovered by the school bullies, they have to figure out if the risks that come with using the book are maybe worth dealing with one more time.
From here the plot unravels a little but it also gets even harder to put the book down (or in my case, turn off the audiobook) and I found Fraternity a really intriguing read.
The audiobook is great, different narrators are used for each boy so the dual POV works really well.
Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the audiobook ARC in exchange for an honest review.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Violence
Moderate: Death and Child abuse
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