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nineinchnails's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
all of the characters were well developed and fleshed out but jodie was particularly interesting to read about. she was one of the only characters to treat mungo with love and care relatively consistently. she was something of a mother figure to him, despite only being a year older - to me this shone a light on mungo's naivete as well as jodie's parentification. they had a teenage brother but the responsibility of raising and caring for the two of them still fell on her shoulders alone. jodie "hated" their mother, but
mungo seems to be endlessly loving, endlessly obedient, and endlessly forgiving. it's painful to see him repeatedly get taken advantage of by the people in his life. his mother has pretty much no redeeming qualities and just seems to take and take with no regard for the wellbeing of her own children. getting to the end and finding out
the ending of the fishing trip did feel a little dissonant considering the overall tone of the novel and the characterisation of mungo up to this point. of course, he was put in a situation where he had few options and i am more than relieved that he ended up
i didn't expect to tear up for the reason that i did when i finished this. it was very shocking while also making complete sense for
Graphic: Hate crime, Sexual harassment, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Child abuse, Violence, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Murder, Sexual content, Homophobia, and Domestic abuse
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Animal death, Sexism, Physical abuse, Adult/minor relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, and Abortion
Minor: Terminal illness, Infidelity, Death of parent, Cancer, and Pregnancy
Child sexual abuse, Grooming, Child neglect, Poverty, Student/Teacher relationship, Backstreet/unsafe abortion, and Prostitution/sex workjupytwo's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
read the content warnings! i did not.
Graphic: Violence, Homophobia, Murder, Rape, and Pedophilia
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
Minor: Abortion
adrienne_rennie's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Rape, Physical abuse, Alcohol, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Murder, Alcoholism, and Sexual violence
Moderate: Abortion, Cursing, Domestic abuse, and Animal death
Minor: Pregnancy
niduran's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Dieses Buch... war heftig. Ich glaub ich bin traumatisiert. Keine Ahnung wie man ein Buch schreiben kann das so abgrundtief widerlich ist. Das Setting ist deprimierend und schmutzig, die Leute sind gemein und widerwärtig, alles ist voller Gewalt und Missbrauch und es so gut geschrieben, dass man es wirklich FÜHLT.
Diese Vergewaltigungsszenen sind wirklich hart. Ich würde mich eigentlich in der Hinsicht nicht als besonders sensibel bezeichnen aber ach du fucking scheiße. Mein Herz wurde gebrochen und ich bin sauer. Sehr sauer. Was für verdammte hurensöhne. Es macht mich richtig glücklich dass sie beide gestorben sind. Aber eigentlich war das nicht genug. Sie hätten schlimmeres verdient. Viel schlimmeres.
Und jodies Affäre mit ihrem Lehrer und der Schwangerschaft hat mich auch wirklich angeekelt. Widerwärtig.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Drug abuse, Homophobia, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence
Minor: Abortion
ajenkies4's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Alcohol, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual violence, Sexism, Sexual assault, Violence, Alcoholism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Pedophilia and Murder
blues's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Ho adorato particolarmente tutte le metafore che Douglas Stuart ha utilizzato per descrivere i sentimenti di Mungo e di tutti questi personaggi, facendomi sempre capire appieno la sensazione che voleva trasmettermi.
Un'altra cosa che ho amato sono le descrizioni degli ambienti: riuscivo davvero a sentirmi dentro ai posti che raccontava. Non solo li vedevo nella mia testa, ma ne sentivo anche gli odori, i rumori e i sapori. Ero davvero insieme ai personaggi.
Questo libro mi ha preso il cuore e me l'ha strappato in mille pezzi, ma mi ha anche lasciato una parte di Mungo, che si muoverà con me ovunque io andrò.
Graphic: Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Violence, Outing, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Abandonment, Homophobia, Murder, Pregnancy, Abortion, Addiction, Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Sexism
Moderate: Pregnancy, Suicidal thoughts, Infidelity, Death, Blood, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Bullying, Child abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, and Animal death
Minor: Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Grief
lindseyhall44's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
I have never felt so absolutely gutted after finishing a book, nor have I wanted to give a character a hug as much as Mungo. Stuart writes such a devastating story of a sweet soul who deserved so much more than what he was given. After checking trigger warnings, I would highly recommend, this is a new favorite for me.
Graphic: Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Death, Sexual violence, Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Pregnancy, Religious bigotry, Addiction, Sexual assault, Rape, Outing, Murder, Homophobia, Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, Hate crime, and Pedophilia
stephh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Growing up in Glasgow in the 80s is tough for young Mungo; a guy who doesn't quite fit in anywhere: not with his gang-leading brother Hamish, his smart sister Josie or their alcoholic mother. But when he meets James, he finally finds his slot in the world and a solid friend at last. This is a violent story of growing up gay, with Mungo on a journey of self discovery that leads him to a darkness that is hard to read through.
I found at the start that this might be a little too similar to Shuggie, but as the book went on it felt very different. This was a much more violent book where Shuggie was more bleak. It was a really hard read that I had to give myself little breaks from at times, but interspersed between these awful bits were moments of much more happiness than you ever saw in Shuggie. However I felt myself drawn to reading the book - a bit like a car crash you can't help but watch unveil. Reading this is all I thought about for the few days I was reading it, and Douglas Stuart's writing is so incredible that this had to be a 5 star read.
*The book should come with a massive trigger warning for sexual assault and rape.*
Graphic: Alcoholism, Homophobia, Murder, Sexual assault, Violence, Blood, Pedophilia, Rape, Child abuse, Death, and Hate crime
lilnormbean's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Murder and Physical abuse
Moderate: Sexual assault
bettinablocksberg's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
just as shuggie bain, young mungo had really great writing and storybuilding. for both books, i loved the setting that felt very real, dark und full of desperation. douglas stuart does what he does very well - BUT (and this is my main criticism of this book) the main character mungo felt extremely similar to shuggie. same kind of mother, similar struggles, same surroundings. i am curious to see if the author is capable of something different in the future.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Murder, and Violence
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, Abortion, Animal death, Death of parent, and Death
Minor: Drug use