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readandfindout's review
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.25
Themes: 4.5 stars
Characters: 4 stars
Plot: 3.5 stars
Graphic: Racial slurs and Transphobia
Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Bullying, Drug use, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Violence
Minor: Child abuse, Lesbophobia, Suicide, and Adult/minor relationship
postal_kat'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Homophobia and Racism
Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, and Sexual content
Minor: Lesbophobia and Violence
booksthatburn'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? It's complicated
5.0
It leaves room for messiness, mistakes, and the strange meandering coincidences of life as we watch Michael grow up, exploring the facets of his identity and celebrating the intersections between them. It handles a lot of topics and nuance in a way that keeps the underlying messiness while reaching for something healthier and more whole with every page. There's a lot of growth in the secondary characters as well, even minor characters learn and change in meaningful and obvious ways by the time the story is over.
I loved reading this and highly recommend it.
Moderate: Racism, Homophobia, Drug use, Bullying, Vomit, Violence, and Domestic abuse
taelights's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
4.5
I've never read a book in verse before and I wasn't sure how I'd like it because I've never been super into poetry, but I loved this one so much. The writing style was absolutely beautiful and so enjoyable to me.
The book itself was raw and emotional, exploring important topics of self acceptance, growing into your true self, and dealing with both homophobia and racism. A lot of the author's words were just very true and sincere and hit so hard. It had just a lot of important messages within the story.
I thought Michael was a fantastic character, very intriguing, and he felt so real to me. I loved getting to read his story and watch him grow.
My only issue with the book is I wish it was longer, I felt like a lot of areas could have been explored more so I really wish some sections were more fleshed out and explored deeper.
Overall this was a very easy and fast read that I would highly recommend. It was very emotional and powerful and it's a story that deserves to be heard.
Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, and Racism
Moderate: Drug use, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Lesbophobia
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Child abuse
Internalized homophobia and internalized racism are also topics explored which I feel like deserve separate content warning tags.librariesoflindsey's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexism, Transphobia, Xenophobia, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Violence and Toxic relationship
Minor: Hate crime and Police brutality