Reviews tagging 'Alcohol'

Young Mungo by Douglas Stuart

116 reviews

lizard800's review

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Cursing, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Violence, Religious bigotry, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Cursing, Sexism, Blood, Abortion, Murder, and Outing

jasminrain's review

challenging dark 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

5.0

This book shattered me but it's also one of the best books I've read in a while. It's a brilliant, yet extremely heavy description of what it was like to grow up queer and working class in Glasgow. One should definitely check the content warnings before reading this book as it's a very challenging read at times. and it touches upon so many different forms of hardship. At the same time, I think it's a brilliant description of queer love, poverty and what life in Scotland was like back in the day. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Outing, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Abortion, and Pregnancy

flykites's review

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

Depression central, felt offput by the switching between past and present. His mother did my head in and then to send your child off with people you do not know at all like babes why you think they were so eager to take him off your hands. Really hope nothing happens to either Hamish or Mungo cause as soon as they discover these 2 bastards were on a registry they should shrug and say thanks for your fucking service. That bit where gallowgate is ringing home and his family helplessly say don’t do anything to the young boy drove me mad.  

I’m Irish and to hear stories about sectarian tension that is not just in the north is always interesting cause I know why people here are rife about it but don’t know why it’s big 8n Scotland too.

The men had looked at him as though they knew what lay inside his soul, things he still had not even admitted to himself. They knew the inescapable shame of it, how isolated it made him feel, and they had used that to separate him from his home and do as they pleased

I think that lil tidbit there hit me right in the stomach after Mungo has questioned what made him look gay effectively and what made these scum try prey on him specifically.
 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship and Abortion

helen777's review

dark emotional sad medium-paced

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

5.0

Best book I’ve read in a long time. Stopped watching tv for a week because I was just reading this. The characters were so well written, and the themes and plot were really captivating. It covers some really tough adult themes - these should not be taken lightly. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual assault, and Violence

Moderate: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Sexual content, Abortion, Abandonment, and Alcohol

Minor: Racism and Police brutality

em_h_ma'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? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, and Alcohol

justnaho's review

dark emotional informative 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

4.0

This is just heartbreaking and traumatized 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Abortion, and Alcohol

steffan_tastic's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Rape, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Outing, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

samstar's review

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

hypocrisis's review against another edition

dark reflective sad slow-paced

• 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

4.0

felt like i was being wrung out like a wet towel, truly gut wrenching passages in there which is why i had to shelve it for a couple of months before reading the second half. there are beautiful moments of hope but you never get to savour them as the inevitable next chapter looms over peaceful scenes like a dark cloud. 
what i love about stuart's work is the realistically complex full characterisation of the families in his books, once again the mother figure sticks out in this regard. definitely worth a read if you can stomach it!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Classism

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Misogyny, Excrement, Abortion, and Outing

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Xenophobia, and Death of parent

oliviaemily's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Alcohol, War, and Classism