Reviews with content warning for Mental illness - Shy

Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

bonkyboot's review against another edition

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dark reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

4.0

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meremeth's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful fast-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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nurlou's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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moa's review

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dark reflective sad fast-paced

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

5.0

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tarajoy90's review

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense 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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serendipitysbooks's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional reflective medium-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

4.5

I might be late to the works of Max Porter but I went in for a deep dive and came up as a major fan of his imagination, his innovative structures, his fragmentary poetic style and special way with words, plus his ability to capture and portray so much in so few words. I listened and read simultaneously which let me appreciate these visually and aurally.

I began with Shy. It does an excellent job of taking you inside the head of a troubled teenage boy. You hear the voices in his head of his parents and teachers, those he has hurt as well as his own thoughts and feelings. It was so easy to identify with Shy as a hurting and confused boy who is suffering mentally and emotionally. But he’s a teen who gets verbally aggressive, emotionally abusive and physically violent, and that is much harder to empathise with and show grace towards. Youth violence is an issue that society really needs to grapple with. With Shy, Porter performs a valuable service, reminding us of the vulnerability and hurt that lies beneath many aggressive and violent facades.

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fionag's review

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emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

4.0

Shy is a lyrical and reflective glance into the mind of a troubled teenage boy. Spanning one night, we follow Shy on his journey, hearing his innermost thoughts, snippets from a documentary being filmed at his residence, and conversations with his workers. The way Porter plays with words always astounds me, they cannot simply be confined to a page. This makes the reading experience so immersive, but may take some a while to get into. You really get a feel for who Shy is across the span of 120 pages. Max writes boyhood, horniness, anger, confusion and sadness so well you feel transported back to your teens. The brief glimpses we get into the relationships between Shy and his parents, workers, and friends are complex and have a brilliant dynamic. Lanny is still my favourite but I really enjoyed Shy and would pick it up again

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katrinepoetry's review

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challenging dark emotional medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character

5.0

An emotionally challenging read, however Porter's writing is flawless as always. Takes a little time to get used to the formatting, but it will click eventually.

As someone who had worked with students on the brink of being excluded from the educational system, this hit really hard. I could see aspects of my previous students so clearly in Shy.

Definitely an important and insightful piece of literature.

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