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adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
medium-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
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Sexual harassment
Moderate: Cursing, Drug abuse, Blood, Grief
If I remember correctly, the r-slur is used a few times as a synonym for "stupid."
dark
emotional
funny
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
This book. This series. This series means more to me than most and I don’t say that lightly. I read this book for the first time when I was first starting to suffer badly with depression and it’s still one of the best book series I’ve read when it comes to writing mentally ill characters in a realistic and humanising way. This is my 4th reread, my last being about 5 years ago and my feelings towards these books are still ones of absolute love.
These characters are still some of my favourites EVER. I have so many emotions relating to them and honestly I can’t do more than scream when it comes to these books so to keep things short: Nicky deserves more recognition for everything he does for the twins. Please someone give that man a hug and tell him he’s doing good. He really needs it. Andrew is a phenomenally written character and every time I read these books, I’m blown away by just how well developed he is. I wish there was more focus on the Dan, Allison and Renee (they get a lot more focus in the next 2 books but still) as they are all amazing characters and I’m more than a little in love with all of them. Kevin does not get enough credit for how hilarious he is, even though most of it is unintentional. I’ve seen a few people call these books “good trash” because of how intense characters like Kevin and Neil (but especially Kevin) are about Exy but listen: Kevin is the son of the creator of Exy, he is raised on the court (literally), he is a national champion and Exy is his entire life. It’s literally everything to him. His OBSESSION and borderline cringey have-you-ever-felt-the-highs-and-lows-of-high-school-football-esc lines are so in line for people like him. I went to school with people like him, I know people at university like him. It's 100% accurate. And it’s supposed to be like that. The other characters roll their eyes at him and make fun of it. He is the only one who takes it that seriously and it’s a joke! That’s why it's so good. He's not supposed to be taken seriously. As for Neil, Exy is literally the only thing he has that is his, it’s the only thing that has brought him happiness. The boy has literally nothing else so of course he’s going to treat it like life and death. They both do. Because it is for them. Literally. The other characters don’t have the same experiences with the game as they do.
Then there’s David Wymack. Wymack is one of the best fucking guardians in books. End of story. He's not just a coach. He's not just a ‘“I’m not a dad” followed by 10 children’ character. He cares so much about these characters. He immediately takes note of their actions and responses to things and does everything in his power to make them comfortable. He understands that his team is a bunch of mentally ill, traumatised children and he acts accordingly. From the second he meets Neil, he treats him with respect but also as an adult who doesn’t need or want to be babied and the way he treats his team is so refreshing to see to me, a mentally ill, traumatised, neurodivergent person.
My only issue I have with how Wymack is written is his use of the R slur right at the end of the book. It comes out of nowhere and I understand that his use of the word is supposed to be derogatory in the same way that Seth’s use of the F slur is derogatory. But whilst Seth’s usage is in character and he is immediately told to not say it, Wymack’s usage of the slur is so out of character compared to how much he cares about the team and no one says anything. He insults the team but this takes it too far and I completely forgot it was in the book (I remembered the F slur but not this) and it through me off. I can’t remember if it’s in the other 2 books. It was published in 2013 and I remember hearing the word used a lot in media, on the news and in documentaries, etc, at that time and people weren’t called out for it. I’m not excusing it at all, I absolutely despise that word, I’m just saying that at that time I don’t think it was considered as big of an issue to use it as other slurs, even teachers in my school didn’t treat it as more than just an insult. Once again, I’m not saying that this is correct, but I can see why it might have been deemed okay to use it in this context. I would be happier if Wymack was called out like Seth was. Other than that I literally have no problems with these books. They are my world and I love them with my whole heart.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Grief
adventurous
dark
emotional
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:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Alcohol
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Alcohol
Minor: Sexual assault
challenging
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Death of parent, Abandonment
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug abuse, Drug use, Violence
Moderate: Death, Sexual assault
Minor: Homophobia
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Re-read 2024:
So Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard made it into the AO3 top ships for this year, scraping in at number 100. Subsequently I felt an overpowering urge to reread this (despite a fat stack of library books I have checked out) and I am so glad I did!
On re-read I'm bumping this up to a 5 because this book made me so feral and I can overlook its flaws a bit more than I did in the past (it's self-pub, and compared to some trad pub I've read, this is like peak literature lmao). It still requires that suspension of disbelief for a lot of aspects but those aspects are just set up for the character interactions and the intense drama - a.k.a the juicy bits that sent me spiralling on a chapterly basis. I was highlighting like almost once per page and my kindle notes are all some variant of "i'm screaming" "ashkjsdhahsjk".
Neil is my scrungly, my blorbo, my woobie. Watching him go from extremely skittish to fighting his own survival instincts to stand up for his fellow foxes and show people a bit of the real him? I am NOT okay <3
----------
Original Review 2021:
4.5
It's not the kind of book I can recommend easily. Like, someone described this series as "gay sports mafia" and I was sold because I love contemporary that's completely off the walls. I really don't care that it's so unrealistic because that's exactly what I love about it.
It's a tense rollercoaster that just gets more and more interesting and I will be losing my mind until I get my hands on the next book
So Neil Josten/Andrew Minyard made it into the AO3 top ships for this year, scraping in at number 100. Subsequently I felt an overpowering urge to reread this (despite a fat stack of library books I have checked out) and I am so glad I did!
On re-read I'm bumping this up to a 5 because this book made me so feral and I can overlook its flaws a bit more than I did in the past (it's self-pub, and compared to some trad pub I've read, this is like peak literature lmao). It still requires that suspension of disbelief for a lot of aspects but those aspects are just set up for the character interactions and the intense drama - a.k.a the juicy bits that sent me spiralling on a chapterly basis. I was highlighting like almost once per page and my kindle notes are all some variant of "i'm screaming" "ashkjsdhahsjk".
Neil is my scrungly, my blorbo, my woobie. Watching him go from extremely skittish to fighting his own survival instincts to stand up for his fellow foxes and show people a bit of the real him? I am NOT okay <3
----------
Original Review 2021:
4.5
It's not the kind of book I can recommend easily. Like, someone described this series as "gay sports mafia" and I was sold because I love contemporary that's completely off the walls. I really don't care that it's so unrealistic because that's exactly what I love about it.
It's a tense rollercoaster that just gets more and more interesting and I will be losing my mind until I get my hands on the next book
Content Warnings
Graphic: Drug abuse, Drug use, Alcohol
Moderate: Death, Vomit, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Homophobia
During a night out Neil: is drugged against his consent and also kissed without consent
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Drug use, Sexual assault, Violence, Toxic friendship, Alcohol
Moderate: Child abuse, Death, Rape, Murder
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Death, Violence, Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicide, Grief
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
All the talk about the sport got me lost, but like the characters, and where they're going. I obviously have a lot of issues with them because they're abusive and have a lot of problems but I wanna know where this is going and how is gonna unravel. It's contradicting but oh well.
Look up the Trigger Warnings if you plan on reading this.
Look up the Trigger Warnings if you plan on reading this.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, Vomit, Car accident, Murder