Reviews with content warning for Death - Кажи на вълците, че съм си у дома

Jesus Christ. At first I thought everyone was being dumb when they said the book was a bad representation of AIDS. All I was seeing was period typical Seraphobia, and then I got to the part where one character equated an incestuous relationship with homosexuality. I should've stopped when the FMC started saying she was in love with her uncle, but foolishly, I continued on. Their whole family dynamic was fucked up. And you're telling me that after falling in love with her uncle, she fell in love with his gay widow? His gay widow who stalked her, encouraged her to drive at the age of 14, gave her cigarettes and alcohol, and made many allusions to them being in a relationship together?

Her mother was fucked up, making her brother keep his lover in the basement so she wouldn't have to see him, her sister treated her like she and it was alluded to that she was not only suicidal but sleeping with her drama teacher, and her father was just there.

And in the end, there's an unnecessary death and a monologue about how much she loved (was in love with) her uncle and also her uncles widow.

Go get therapy girl!! In fact, send your whole damn family to therapy!!

I do not understand now this book is so highly accoladed.

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gerrakay's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad fast-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

Gorgeous, deftly-written reflection on all of our complexities and how we weave into each other's lives.

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bookishbisexual's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced

4.5

A beautiful story about forgiveness and finding love and kinship in the most unexpected places. As someone who has felt the “wrong kind” of love, I empathized with June and appreciated the authors gentle approach. I also loved reading about the the human side of the AIDS crisis, even though it’s painful we need a reminder of what happened and how gay people were treated by everyone around them. June’s love was radical and I loved her for it.

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ell_jay_em7's review against another edition

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emotional reflective fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

SO EMOTIONAL, SO MUCH CRY. Wow, what a beautiful book. At times the emotional tension was almost unbearable. The author captured the invisible lines that form between people and make it impossible for them to connect and understand each other...and what happens if someone is determined to connect anyway. The story was a deeply beautiful and wrenching portrait of kids growing up amidst loss and family secrets; the pain and fear and even anguish of their childhood passing away, whether they're ready or not; and a meditation on love, how profound it can be, perhaps especially when it defies definition.

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bearbutch's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense 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

4.0

Incredibly written book with so many layers and meanings to discover within each page. It takes a lot to make me cry at a book these days, but this one did at the end. however I will say that the crush June had on her Uncle Finn and the way it’s handled doesn’t quite sit right with me, and makes me feel conflicted. I do recommend it highly, but be aware of that weird detail.

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rachelkreadsbookz's review against another edition

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emotional reflective 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

4.5

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taural41's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad slow-paced

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

5.0

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jefferz's review against another edition

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emotional reflective sad 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

4.5

Edit 3/23/24: Bumped the ratings up a star. Having gotten back into reading regularly and reflecting on books completed last year, this one really stuck with me and is one I often remember. Based purely on it's ambition and its lasting impact, this should be up to a 4 / 4.5 at least. Also kind of want to rewrite this review as it doesn't highlight the nuanced and excellent character relationships that are not always pleasant to read about.

This one is difficult to rate as I found the first 2/3 of the book trying to get through and every character insufferable, though that's not a dig at the writing or plot which is well done. I found the tone to be overall off-putting in a first-person perspective from the eyes of a very emotionally volatile 14 yr old (granted that's on me reading this when I'm over twice the age of June and her sister) and every character to be insufferable. The one bright spot and redeeming factor that kept me going was Toby, the only character that's bearable to read about. Toby and his character arc is by far the best aspect of the entire book and one I empathized with a lot.

However once the book gets to the last 1/3 of the story, I got very invested partly thanks to June managing her feelings less ridiculously (we love character growth) and the book following through on its premise of finding out just who this unknown man that shows up at Finn's funeral is. The way this book handles concepts of love (both romantic and familial), loss, prejudice (particularly bigotry given it's setting in the 80's at the start HIV/AIDS epidemic) is well done, the delivery was just not to my taste. Most of the book I struggled through at a 1-star but the last 100 pages or so is a solid 4-4.5. However if you're interested in flawed (and petty) personalities and all the emotions of preteen discovery herself, your mileage may vary and go a lot farther than mine.

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