Reviews tagging 'Police brutality'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

21 reviews

mai_books27's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

This book took me by the throat and broke my heart and i still couldn't put it down. The storytelling is atmospheric and phenomenal, the characters are so tangible and human. I cannot recommend this book enough, but due to the weight of the subject matter it's one you have to pick up in your own time. A new favorite, for sure. Violen  but soft and loving, this book is worth every penny. Please read it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Alcoholism, Suicidal thoughts, Drug use, Death, Outing, Murder, Abandonment, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical trauma, Pedophilia, Grief, Violence, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Physical abuse, Rape, Police brutality, Child abuse, Sexual content, and Sexism

tarnya_smith's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

5.0

We follow Mungo, the youngest of 3 siblings to an absent father and a drunk mother who is intermittent and unreliable. Mungo tries to stay in school, navigate gang expectations from his older brother, keep connected with his mother and make friends. You really feel for Mungo and his want to escape this life and when he finds his reason and chance, you can't help but hope it's not too good to be true. 

I'd never read anything before with such a distinctive Glaswegian voice and the audiobook really helped with that. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Emotional abuse, Police brutality, Sexual violence, Alcoholism, Domestic abuse, Sexual assault, Addiction, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcohol, and Violence

tashmachin's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Sexual violence, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Police brutality, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Pedophilia

Minor: Excrement

helen777's review against another edition

dark emotional sad 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

Best book I’ve read in a long time. Stopped watching tv for a week because I was just reading this. The characters were so well written, and the themes and plot were really captivating. It covers some really tough adult themes - these should not be taken lightly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Violence, Pedophilia, Rape, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual content, Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, and Abortion

Minor: Racism and Police brutality

aleksanski's review against another edition

dark hopeful reflective sad tense 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Bullying, Classism, Domestic abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual harassment, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, Violence, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Adult/minor relationship, Police brutality, Sexual content, and Outing

Moderate: Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, and Vomit

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

alouette's review

challenging emotional sad slow-paced

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

5.0

CHECK CWs

this is a very difficult, very beautiful novel. i don't think i would've been able to make it through if i related any more to the characters (or was less able to numb myself to their pain). they are all such complicated, broken people and the fact that no one could protect Mungo had me in tears. even when he had to do what he did to protect himself, all i felt was sadness. i had to hold on really tight to the comfort of Mungo's relationships with James and with his sister <3

for all the darkness, my favourite part was the chance for us as readers to choose a happy ending in the implications of the very last scene. the world was and is and will be fill of terrible cultures and places and people, but we will find reasons to keep going. 

my second favourite part was when Mungo kissed James and thought "maybe if lord of the flies had been more like this he would've paid more attention." same, bud, same

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Gaslighting, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, Alcoholism, Animal death, Violence, Sexual content, Sexism, Death, Grief, Blood, Rape, Murder, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Pedophilia

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Police brutality

cluckieduck's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad fast-paced

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

5.0

 I have been sitting with my thoughts on how to review this book for some time now, as I grapple with my feelings. How do you rate something that is unspeakably tragic, yet utterly captivating? Seriously, this is Shakespearean-level tragedy here, equally one of the most horrible books I've read this year (possibly ever) but also one of the best.

What it did do, however, was reinforce my love for romance novels because the amount of despair & anguish that poor Mungo goes through is too much for my poor heart. Seems I can only take one piece of contemporary fiction like Young Mungo each year! Thankfully it ended on a somewhat hopeful note, otherwise I don't know how I would have coped. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Abandonment, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Pedophilia, Violence, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Animal death, Death, Domestic abuse, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, Blood, Classism, Cursing, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Excrement and Vomit

Minor: Death of parent

owenwilsonbaby's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.25

""Don't." Something in him could not stand to be loved."

I loved this! It was sad and brutal but not without beauty. I think it avoided a lot of sentimentality in romance by focusing on the physical and the unglamorous, and then working hard to draw out the tenderness within that realism. The imagery and lyricism made this a beautiful, if slightly dense, novel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Chronic illness, Cursing, Drug abuse, Excrement, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Self harm, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Abandonment, Abortion, Alcohol, Sexism, Sexual violence, Addiction, Animal death, Violence, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Police brutality, Pregnancy, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Sexual content

marioncromb's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Homophobia, Hate crime, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Outing, Physical abuse, Rape, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Abandonment, Abortion, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Police brutality, and Sexual content

Minor: Child death, Pregnancy, Self harm, and Violence

collie98's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Sexual assault, Blood, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Sexual violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Outing, Chronic illness, Cursing, Grief, Incest, Police brutality, and Abortion