Reviews tagging 'Religious bigotry'

Flamer by Mike Curato

24 reviews

literatefox76's review

challenging emotional reflective 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? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, Suicide attempt, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Religious bigotry, and Self harm

bickie's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.75

Set in 1995, the main character, who is part Filipino, goes to Boy Scout camp (as he always does) the summer before starting high school, which he has decided to attend at the public school rather than stay at his Catholic school. Aiden is an altar boy who is kind and helps both his mom and his ~4-year-old twin siblings deal with the explosive temper of his dad. Aiden is also relentlessly bullied for having what other boys think are "gay" characteristics, which he reflects are his voice and his general lack of misogynism, such as talking about liking girls for their personality characteristics rather than their bodies. Aiden knows what gay is and knows he's not that (though he learns eventually that he probably is).

While there is a fair amount of crude language, cursing, and gross locker room-type behavior, this book would be great for any middle schooler boy who does not feel entirely comfortable with hyper- and toxic masculinity. 

MC decides, after impulsively kissing a male friend on the cheek (who moves out of their 2-person tent at Boy Scout camp), to slit his wrists in the non-denominational chapel at camp; he is stopped by the life-fire of his soul, which speaks to him. 

There is crude language, including curse words, primarily but not exclusively spoken by the bullies. A lot of it is homophobic, such as making innuendoes about hot dogs and buns. There is one scene where Aiden enters a tent where the boys are hanging out "taking care of business" and realizes that they are masturbating into a soda bottle one by one. If one of them doesn't contribute any "cum," he has to drink it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Fatphobia, Cursing, Body shaming, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, Domestic abuse, Suicidal thoughts, and Bullying

Moderate: Violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, and Misogyny

demetrius_bennett's review

emotional 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

4.0

The story was amazing and I found the protagonist's experience very relatable. The characters felt very realistic, especially compared to other books portraying 14-year-old boys. However, the ending of the story felt very rushed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Body shaming, Bullying, Religious bigotry, Outing, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Death, Hate crime, Sexual content, and Misogyny

Minor: Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Sexism, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Racial slurs, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Sexual harassment

heatherchrisman's review

emotional reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Body shaming, Bullying, Cursing, Homophobia, Racism, Racial slurs, Self harm, and Suicidal thoughts

buttermellow's review

dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Misogyny, Bullying, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Fatphobia, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Sexual harassment

marlydawn's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad tense fast-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Racism, Domestic abuse, Suicide, Bullying, Xenophobia, Sexual content, Body shaming, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Racial slurs

tinytrashqueen's review

emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Fatphobia, Suicidal thoughts, Bullying, Body shaming, and Racism

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Outing

rhiannon814r's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated

4.25

This was a good read! It was very slice-of-life, when I had expected it to be more plot-driven. The art was great and was perfect for telling the story. I don’t know how to describe it. Maybe I’ll be able to write a better review when I’m done SOBBING.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Religious bigotry, and Homophobia

Moderate: Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Domestic abuse, Suicide attempt, Toxic friendship, Racial slurs, Racism, and Self harm

Minor: Cancer, Child death, Fatphobia, and Outing

There was a happy ending (or at least a satisfying conclusion where nothing terrible winds up happening to the main character), but the book as a whole was heavy.

the_vegan_bookworm's review

Me DNFing this is not a critique of the book at all! I think I might just be too much older than the protagonist Aiden in order for me to meaningfully get into the story.

If you are closer to middle school age or someone who can relate to Aiden's experiences around scouting, for example, you might be able to better relate to this book than I was. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

nicoleonbooks's review

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

Heartwrenching. LGBTQ+ kids, and adults, will find themselves in Aiden and his struggle around his sexuality. The art perfectly matched the story. Perfect use of color to depict emotion. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Violence

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Homophobia, Sexual content, and Bullying

Minor: Domestic abuse and Outing