Reviews tagging 'Terminal illness'

The Guncle by Steven Rowley

53 reviews

diana_raquel's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

4.5

“Grief orbits the heart. Some days the circle is greater. Those are the good days. You have room to move and dance and breathe. Some days the circle is tighter. Those are the hard ones.”

The Guncle follows the story of Patrick, or Gay Uncle Patrick, when he has to take care of Maisie and Grant, his niece and nephew, after tragedy strikes. And despite having a set of “Guncle Rules”, Patrick has no idea what to expect, having spent years barely holding on after the loss of his great love, a somewhat-stalled career, and a lifestyle not-so-suited to a six- and a nine-year-old.

I really loved this story! Its a story about grief and loss, but its also about hope and recovery. I loved every bit of it and couldn't put it down! Truly recommend it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Grief, Death of parent, Car accident, and Medical content

Moderate: Cancer, Addiction, Drug abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, and Sexual content

kickitupanotch7's review against another edition

emotional funny 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? Yes

4.75

It took a couple of chapters for me to get into it but I’m glad I stuck with it. This book was funny and unique and had such tremendous character growth throughout the course of the summer. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Death of parent

Moderate: Addiction, Terminal illness, Cancer, and Car accident

Minor: Alcohol, Suicidal thoughts, and Medical content

avisreadsandreads's review

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent and Grief

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Alcohol, Car accident, and Terminal illness

Minor: Addiction, Medical content, and Vomit

slprincess's review

emotional funny reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Car accident, Death, Terminal illness, Drug use, Addiction, and Death of parent

lynxpardinus's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Grief, and Medical content

Moderate: Alcoholism, Car accident, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Cancer, Confinement, Drug abuse, Racism, Alcohol, Drug use, Terminal illness, Addiction, and Sexual assault

Minor: Child death, Gaslighting, Genocide, Abandonment, Colonisation, Suicidal thoughts, Body shaming, Outing, Bullying, Child abuse, Incest, Infidelity, Misogyny, Pandemic/Epidemic, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Stalking, Xenophobia, and Religious bigotry

marpaige's review against another edition

emotional funny inspiring reflective sad medium-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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Grief

Moderate: Terminal illness, Addiction, and Car accident

Minor: Suicidal thoughts

emmehooks's review

emotional funny hopeful reflective medium-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

4.75

I thought this was going to be a fluffy book about all the white gay man stereotypes - I was very glad to be proven (mostly) wrong. Patrick Is still a little insufferable.  

So many beautiful reflections about the queer experience and genuine reflections of grief in all its forms. My only qualm is that some of the subplots just didn’t feel necessary (<Emory, court drama with Clara>). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Grief, Addiction, Death of parent, Cancer, and Car accident

Moderate: Drug abuse and Alcohol

Minor: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, and Eating disorder

katharina90's review against another edition

funny lighthearted sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

2.5

This was kind of meh. Some bits were funny, others were cringey or just fell flat. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Terminal illness, Homophobia, Grief, and Addiction

Minor: Fatphobia and Ableism

maxinesf's review

emotional funny reflective medium-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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Terminal illness

Moderate: Drug abuse and Homophobia

thatswhatshanread's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

3.5

Well, it took me about 5 years to finish this novel due to a very annoying reading slump, but after finally hitting the story’s stride with the second half, I’m happy to report I did enjoy it. It felt like the very depth of a proper embrace—comforting but yet all consuming. It was not necessarily a funny book like I expected, but more of an introspective look at grief and the different ways we cope with it. In Guncle Patrick’s case that often did include comedy, but also fury and sadness and absurdity and care. Patrick’s relationship with his niece and nephew is the star of the story, but his relationship with everyone in his life, past and present, is unveiled through his love of and life with the children. 

This a book about family and dreams, and how you should never give up on either of them.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Cancer, Cursing, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Death, Alcohol, Death of parent, Car accident, Drug use, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, Injury/Injury detail, Adult/minor relationship, Homophobia, Blood, and Abandonment