Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Flamer by Mike Curato

1 review

davidbythebay's review

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emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was very nice and encompasses some different perspectives than a lot of the mainstream LGBTQ material out there. First, the main character is a questioning Asian-American male. This is definitely an underrepresented demographic. Second, he knows he's gay but can't really admit to it. This is so incredibly relatable. Additionally, we have the Christian angle where our MC is struggling with his faith. This scout camp being homophobic is also another perspective we don't always get. Finally, we have the lovely aspect of mental health wherein our MC is struggling but doesn't appear to be diagnosed with anything outright. How his faith and inner self help him through is a big portion of this book. 

This is a story with no ending and a number of dangling threads that still feels complete. That makes this a wonderful story to foster discussion and introspection - some of my favorite kinds of LGBTQ+ material do this. Overall, this was delightful and provides a unique point of view on coming to terms with being gay, but not coming out. 
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