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divafern's review against another edition
Absolutely maudlin. Without going too far into it, it tries to do too much. The writing is interesting in some places and yet liberally peppered with laughably bad metaphors and tired stereotypes. Just see the list of content warnings to get a feel for the book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Ableism, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Outing, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Child abuse, Grief, Miscarriage, Murder, Pedophilia, Infidelity, Homophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Suicidal thoughts, Animal death, Alcoholism, Suicide, Vomit, Suicide attempt, Sexism, Abandonment, Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Addiction, Alcohol, Blood, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, and Police brutality
becks4books's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Child death, Racism, Racial slurs, Homophobia, Child abuse, and Fire/Fire injury
irisfromthevillage's review against another edition
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Racial slurs, and Racism
Minor: Cannibalism
melsbookshelves03's review against another edition
dark
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
4.5 rounding up to 5 for Goodreads. I really enjoyed this one a lot. I didn't know what to expect when starting in terms of tone or atmosphere, but immediately fell into the small town southern gothic vibes the author was writing on the page. I liked the almost lyricist-esque prose in parts but some may find it a bit much. To me, the writing was fantastic and really cemented me in that time period and place. I listened to this one on audio and thought the narrator was absolutely fantastic. He did an amazing job of giving off the right atmosphere in his narration. The one complaint I have of this book is that Fielding is telling the reader parts of his life story that do not coincide with the summer the main chunk of the book is about. These parts where the timeline jumps to other years and days felt very jarring and confusing at times because there is no signal that lets the reader know he is now talking about another part of his life. Other than that, I found it to be a very atmospherical and enjoyable read (despite all the tragedy within). I think this would be most interesting to reread at some point having the knowledge of the ending at hand.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Murder, and Racism
brokenspines_'s review against another edition
challenging
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Racism, and Suicide
Minor: Child death and Child abuse
la_lela's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Violence, and Suicide
Moderate: Suicide attempt and Miscarriage
happyreadings's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
This was a such an unsettling novel about a town in the middle of a heat wave and the devil. When Sal shows up unexpectedly after Autopsy Bliss sent out an invitation for the Devil to come, he claims he's the devil. A thirteen year old black boy in the middle of Breathed, Ohio. The Bliss family takes him in with no questions. When accidents happen when Sal is around, people in the town are too quick to blame it on him, the devil.
Fielding, Autopsy's son, becomes close with Sal and learns where Sal came from and the trauma he went through with his abusive family. However, word spreads of Sal being the devil and a cult forms. Things escalate at the end of the summer when the cult takes it too far and the heat becomes too much.
This book was a lot but if you've read Betty, by Tiffany McDaniels, then you'll understand this is her kind of story telling. This story had a lot of lessons mostly being not to judge something just because we're told that it is bad.
Fielding, Autopsy's son, becomes close with Sal and learns where Sal came from and the trauma he went through with his abusive family. However, word spreads of Sal being the devil and a cult forms. Things escalate at the end of the summer when the cult takes it too far and the heat becomes too much.
This book was a lot but if you've read Betty, by Tiffany McDaniels, then you'll understand this is her kind of story telling. This story had a lot of lessons mostly being not to judge something just because we're told that it is bad.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racism, and Suicide
epiphylium's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
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
5.0
This is my favourite non-fiction novel that I have ever read. Tiffany's writing style is absolutely stunning, a mixture of prose, poetry, and metaphors that I just adore. There was no unnecessary words, everything felt like it was there for a reason and I've revisited this story a few times now, and I feel the same if not stronger about her talent every time.
The premise of the novel, to put briefly, is it is one of the hottest summers to ever be recorded in this town and Fielding's father, invites the devil to come. When his invitation is accepted, the devil comes to town not with horns and a tail, but in the body of a 13 year old black boy.
Some of my favourite things about the book includes the way it was set up. It is narrated by an older Fielding who is reflecting on parts of his life post 1984, which helps propel the story of that summer forward, leading up to everything that happens. You can tell that something has happened, as Fielding is so broken and guilt ridden that you can tell he has experienced a lot of traumatic events, but we don't know what they are until we progress through the novel.
This isn't a long novel, only a little over 300 pages, but the author covers so many important issues: racism, homophobia (during the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s), child abuse (incl rape, but mentioned briefly), religion, mob mentality, agoraphobia. Although set 4 decades ago now, these issues are still so prevalent today and it's something we should all care about and actively try and use our privilege to advocate for.
I can understand that because of the heavy themes in this novel that it is not for everyone, and like a previous reviewer, oczerniecka has said "It is hard for me to express how I could love a book that is depicting the most heinous aspects of human nature. This story moved me and showed me all the different sides of the issues that are brought up in the story. The characters affected by the events of the summer are complicated, and you cannot say if they are good or bad. Because when you choose to brand someone as bad, you are throwing off all the good about the person. And the same go with marking someone as good, you may not see the evil that is within the person. Read this deeply moving and sad story; this may shatter you and make you weep, and sometimes books should do just that."
The premise of the novel, to put briefly, is it is one of the hottest summers to ever be recorded in this town and Fielding's father, invites the devil to come. When his invitation is accepted, the devil comes to town not with horns and a tail, but in the body of a 13 year old black boy.
Some of my favourite things about the book includes the way it was set up. It is narrated by an older Fielding who is reflecting on parts of his life post 1984, which helps propel the story of that summer forward, leading up to everything that happens. You can tell that something has happened, as Fielding is so broken and guilt ridden that you can tell he has experienced a lot of traumatic events, but we don't know what they are until we progress through the novel.
This isn't a long novel, only a little over 300 pages, but the author covers so many important issues: racism, homophobia (during the AIDS outbreak in the 1980s), child abuse (incl rape, but mentioned briefly), religion, mob mentality, agoraphobia. Although set 4 decades ago now, these issues are still so prevalent today and it's something we should all care about and actively try and use our privilege to advocate for.
I can understand that because of the heavy themes in this novel that it is not for everyone, and like a previous reviewer, oczerniecka has said "It is hard for me to express how I could love a book that is depicting the most heinous aspects of human nature. This story moved me and showed me all the different sides of the issues that are brought up in the story. The characters affected by the events of the summer are complicated, and you cannot say if they are good or bad. Because when you choose to brand someone as bad, you are throwing off all the good about the person. And the same go with marking someone as good, you may not see the evil that is within the person. Read this deeply moving and sad story; this may shatter you and make you weep, and sometimes books should do just that."
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Pedophilia, and Rape
sarahasyouwish's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
5.0
This is the story of a man in an Appalachian town in Ohio printing an open invitation for the devil to come visit him and what happened when the devil accepted. You may (or may not) be surprised to find out that rather than the devil bringing evil with him, he simply exposed the evil that was already deeply rooted in that town. This is a literary novel with absolutely beautiful writing and characters who refuse to stay on the page. They absolutely come to life along with the sweltering heat in this novel, and they will most certainly burrow a place into your heart. I know they did for me. McDaniels is an amazing writer with a gift for telling eternal stories about small town people and the big world truths they live. She has quickly become an all-time favorite author of mine.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Racism, Child death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Miscarriage
Minor: Vomit, Rape, Pedophilia, Domestic abuse, and Child abuse
lorylor's review against another edition
dark
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Animal death, Child death, Death, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Religious bigotry, and Murder
Minor: Cannibalism, Death of parent, Kidnapping, and Miscarriage