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3.93 AVERAGE
3.93 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Mongrels is unlike any werewolf story I've read, and I loved it. It's a coming-of-age story, it's a family story, it's a story of folks who are transient, rootless, and living hand[or paw, sometimes, har har]-to-mouth. This book had it all-- graphic scenes, tender scenes, funny scenes. And the way Graham Jones alternately builds on and wholesale rejects common werewolf lore is just so good.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
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
dark
emotional
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A coming of age of a maybe-werewolf pre-teen that bares its teeth and growls to catch our undivided attention, and it works.
This was such a fantastic "dear diary" type of novel, I absolutely loved every minute of it! You're caught between loving and hating the characters because they are the baddies at times, and you can see where "nephew" struggles to assimilate in a human world not built for their kind. With a non-linear coming of age story of what it is like to grow up as part of the pack, and all the misadventures the wolf life takes, and what the world ditches back out
This was such a fantastic "dear diary" type of novel, I absolutely loved every minute of it! You're caught between loving and hating the characters because they are the baddies at times, and you can see where "nephew" struggles to assimilate in a human world not built for their kind. With a non-linear coming of age story of what it is like to grow up as part of the pack, and all the misadventures the wolf life takes, and what the world ditches back out
This is the second SGJ book I have read now, and I think I can safely say I am a fan now. His writing is sharp, fun, and engaging. There’s something about the way that he writes stories that:
1. Successfully got me back into reading after having not finished a single novel in years
and
2. Makes me feel like I’m being told a story by a really cool uncle near a nice bonfire, which provides a comfort that only that exact scenario could.
My thoughts on this book are kind of hard for me to put into words proper, but what I will say is that this book really did it for me. A werewolf story on the surface, but with many themes interwoven within. Family, poverty, growing up on the fringes of society, and more.
I loved the characters, and their familial bond felt fully realized in a way that made me wish I was a part of it with them.
My only gripe is that I wasn’t a big fan of the vignette stories in between chapters, as I felt like they broke up the pacing of the main narrative for me, but that isn’t to say they are bad at all, and your mileage may vary!
Overall, a very nice read and I can’t wait to read more of his work.
1. Successfully got me back into reading after having not finished a single novel in years
and
2. Makes me feel like I’m being told a story by a really cool uncle near a nice bonfire, which provides a comfort that only that exact scenario could.
My thoughts on this book are kind of hard for me to put into words proper, but what I will say is that this book really did it for me. A werewolf story on the surface, but with many themes interwoven within. Family, poverty, growing up on the fringes of society, and more.
I loved the characters, and their familial bond felt fully realized in a way that made me wish I was a part of it with them.
My only gripe is that I wasn’t a big fan of the vignette stories in between chapters, as I felt like they broke up the pacing of the main narrative for me, but that isn’t to say they are bad at all, and your mileage may vary!
Overall, a very nice read and I can’t wait to read more of his work.
Spoiler
Long Live Darren!
Picked this up on a whim without really knowing anything about the author.
I was genuinely sad when this ended! I wanted the story to keep unfolding, and not leave our key characters when we did.
I was genuinely sad when this ended! I wanted the story to keep unfolding, and not leave our key characters when we did.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
lighthearted
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
Lycanthropy as a metaphor for the struggles of growing up in poverty in rural America (but also, no, really, we’re werewolves)
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Mongrels is really beautiful in its fully realized depiction of a messy and deeply human family of werewolves struggling to survive in the American south. The prose is absolutely fantastic and Stephen Graham Jones writes with a grit and anxiety that is utterly entrancing. I did find myself getting a bit lost as to what was happening in some points at the novel, but a book club would have a real field day with this one.