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leyfreoo's review
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
purpledusk's review
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This book is gut-wrenching in how it shows us the daily life of a chronically ill person. The complexity of the characters was incredible and how it looked at the scale of things that aren’t a problem to things that are catastrophic felt incredibly relatable to the way we experience life very day. This felt slow-paced but I didn’t want to put it down. Definitely worth the read!
duck1e's review
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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
5.0
Reading this book as a diabetic (type 2 in my case) is so incredibly impactful.
The mc Persephone is absolutely spiralling, thinking she deserves her diabetes and doesn’t take care of herself as a result. She’s a grieving, angry, chronically ill 16 year old, with all the complications that go along with it.
I can’t really put into words how this book made me feel except that it was essential. Impactful. Gut-wrenching. I cried. Five stars.
My favourite book of the year so far.
The mc Persephone is absolutely spiralling, thinking she deserves her diabetes and doesn’t take care of herself as a result. She’s a grieving, angry, chronically ill 16 year old, with all the complications that go along with it.
I can’t really put into words how this book made me feel except that it was essential. Impactful. Gut-wrenching. I cried. Five stars.
My favourite book of the year so far.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Chronic illness, Vomit, Grief, Self harm, Death of parent, Medical content, Domestic abuse, and Mental illness
Moderate: Ableism, Dementia, Abandonment, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Cursing, Gun violence, and Cancer
thebookishpage's review
4.0
This is one of those gorgeous, angry books that sucks you into the protagonist’s head, where you get caught in the middle of their frustration, depression, and personality quirks without being able to look away for 350 pages. Sugar is a heavy read, but it’s a super, super interesting one, exploring a messy family and a cluster of messy characters but ending on a tentatively positive note. The characterisation of the kids and teenagers all being obsessed with illness and apocalypses because they’re sick of living in suspense that Something Is About To Go Wrong and just want everything to crash and burn already, is so goddamn interesting.
samevans's review
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
heartmf's review
challenging
dark
emotional
relaxing
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.25
chelseas_reads's review
3.0
before we start this review, can we take a moment to admire the cover please? isn’t it just stunning? the pastel colours are phenomenal.
anyway, on with the review.
sugar, written by australian author carly nugent, follows the non stop life of persephone. (yes, named for the greek goddess. although i found it amusing that her mother was called demi – usually short for demetria aka follower of demeter).
sorry. i love when names match up.
persephone isn’t like many other protagonists that i’ve read about. (well, she is, but she’s also different). firstly, she has type 1 diabetes. this book was very insightful regarding the things that people with diabetes go through. it sounds like a lot of effort, trying to calculate everything that you eat to ensure your sugar levels are okay.
secondly, persephone is a very angry teenager. she thinks she owes the world something (mostly because she feels responsible for someone’s death). it wasn’t until the last 20% when i really started to feel for her. when we found out that she thinks diabetes is her punishment for being a bad daughter.
the other characters in sugar were like every other side character. they didn’t make me love or hate the book. i liked how everyone was struggling with something of there own. demi wasn’t the best parent, but she grows and overcomes what troubles her.
i found steven to be the most interesting of the side characters. mostly because i watch a lot of true crime and he was giving off anti-social-school-shooter vibes. (which i regret thinking that way, given the way he had suffered, but he did some alarming things).
overall, sugar was a rollercoaster of a book. with the struggles of physical health and mental health (grief, depression, etc.) everything was non stop. i like how sugar has increased my awareness for diabetes as it’s not something i knew much about before. if you’re looking for a contemporary novel that focuses on mental and physical health, i definitely recommend this one!
anyway, on with the review.
sugar, written by australian author carly nugent, follows the non stop life of persephone. (yes, named for the greek goddess. although i found it amusing that her mother was called demi – usually short for demetria aka follower of demeter).
sorry. i love when names match up.
persephone isn’t like many other protagonists that i’ve read about. (well, she is, but she’s also different). firstly, she has type 1 diabetes. this book was very insightful regarding the things that people with diabetes go through. it sounds like a lot of effort, trying to calculate everything that you eat to ensure your sugar levels are okay.
secondly, persephone is a very angry teenager. she thinks she owes the world something (mostly because she feels responsible for someone’s death). it wasn’t until the last 20% when i really started to feel for her. when we found out that she thinks diabetes is her punishment for being a bad daughter.
the other characters in sugar were like every other side character. they didn’t make me love or hate the book. i liked how everyone was struggling with something of there own. demi wasn’t the best parent, but she grows and overcomes what troubles her.
i found steven to be the most interesting of the side characters. mostly because i watch a lot of true crime and he was giving off anti-social-school-shooter vibes. (which i regret thinking that way, given the way he had suffered, but he did some alarming things).
overall, sugar was a rollercoaster of a book. with the struggles of physical health and mental health (grief, depression, etc.) everything was non stop. i like how sugar has increased my awareness for diabetes as it’s not something i knew much about before. if you’re looking for a contemporary novel that focuses on mental and physical health, i definitely recommend this one!
thereadingchallengechallenge's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
This little book about a teenage girl with diabetes sure packs a punch. I read the entire thing today because even though I found Persephone's story and perspective unbelievably bleak, I just couldn't look away.
I had to know what happened, I had to know what had made this girl a little ball of anger. I had to know why her not-quite-cousin was so determined to be sick too. I had to know about the boy by the river and the one who called her such a horrible word.
I will say that if you pick this up for the diabetes/chronic illness rep, please try to remember that Persephone is not only dealing with her diabetes diagnosis, she is also deeply depressed and stuck in her grief. Don't judge her too harshly for being so ashamed of her chronic illness because her mental illness is clouding her perspective. It is hard to read her thoughts about her illness but please give her the benefit of a doubt because Persephone's journey with her illness is what makes her story so compelling.
An emotional, engaging novel that will definitely keep me on the lookout for Nugent's next book.
Warnings: grief, internalised ableism, references to domestic violence.
I had to know what happened, I had to know what had made this girl a little ball of anger. I had to know why her not-quite-cousin was so determined to be sick too. I had to know about the boy by the river and the one who called her such a horrible word.
I will say that if you pick this up for the diabetes/chronic illness rep, please try to remember that Persephone is not only dealing with her diabetes diagnosis, she is also deeply depressed and stuck in her grief. Don't judge her too harshly for being so ashamed of her chronic illness because her mental illness is clouding her perspective. It is hard to read her thoughts about her illness but please give her the benefit of a doubt because Persephone's journey with her illness is what makes her story so compelling.
An emotional, engaging novel that will definitely keep me on the lookout for Nugent's next book.
Warnings: grief, internalised ableism, references to domestic violence.
becandbooks's review
4.0
Trigger warnings:
With my copy of Sugar sent by the publisher, a note from Nugent explains that she wrote this book partly to voice the frustration of living with a chronic illness. And while this book does many, many things, that is certainly something that is vivid and apparent throughout Persephone's journey. And while that is a large component of the story, Sugar is much more.
This is a story about growing up, about grief, and about accepting oneself & the life they are handed - both the good & the bad. It is a story about a character that is raw and exposed in many ways. It is about a mystery, that may not be a mystery.
Sugar is a spectacularly written book that is palatable for young readers, but holds an awful amount of depth. At times the writing style feels much younger than the themes suggest - with lists and notes and word definitions throughout. But it doesn't take away from everything this book sets out to say.
Spoiler
bullying, needles, hospitals & hospitalisation, death of father, grief depiction, car accident, physical assault, dead body, emesis, domestic abuse (intimate & child), physical abuse, emotional abuse, fire, suicide discussed, memory disorders, child abandonment, natural disaster (bush fire), cancer, diabetes, monitoring of foodWith my copy of Sugar sent by the publisher, a note from Nugent explains that she wrote this book partly to voice the frustration of living with a chronic illness. And while this book does many, many things, that is certainly something that is vivid and apparent throughout Persephone's journey. And while that is a large component of the story, Sugar is much more.
This is a story about growing up, about grief, and about accepting oneself & the life they are handed - both the good & the bad. It is a story about a character that is raw and exposed in many ways. It is about a mystery, that may not be a mystery.
Sugar is a spectacularly written book that is palatable for young readers, but holds an awful amount of depth. At times the writing style feels much younger than the themes suggest - with lists and notes and word definitions throughout. But it doesn't take away from everything this book sets out to say.
Note: Review copy received from Text Publishing. This does not impact opinions within this review.
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