Take a photo of a barcode or cover
Graphic: Body horror, Gore, Gun violence, Racism, Violence, Blood, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Medical content, Lesbophobia, Alcohol
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Misogyny, Racism, Abandonment
Minor: Sexual content
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
This is a story about inescapable poverty & racism. It's a story about family - about generational violence and struggling with identity and our MC's deep desire to be a good father. At its core, it's a story about one man yearning for freedom. Throw in a heist (where things rapidly funnel out of control) and a lot of action-packed getaway drives, and you've got me hooked.
We follow Beauregard ("Bug") as he attempts to create an honest life for himself and his family, leaving his exploits as a getaway driver in the past. But a lot of things go wrong all at once, and Bug is tempted by an old acquaintance to lean back into the Life he so desperately wanted to bury for one final heist. (Though is it ever one final heist?)
Bug is a deeply compelling protagonist - he makes some pretty nasty choices, but you still find yourself rooting for him. That's not easy to pull off.
The prose is overall strong, but at moments Cosby leans into the similes so much that it got a little distracting. There's also a lot of detailed car talk, but even as a reader with 0 expertise in this area I felt like I was able to follow along (it just took a little extra effort at times, and led to some descriptions that felt quite dry).
It's a gritty read with a lot of depth. It's intense. It's violent. It's heavy on the heart. But in my opinion? It's worth it.
CW: murder, violence, gore, body horror, gun violence, drug use, racial slurs, torture, fatphobia, cancer, sexual content, car accident, animal death, fire, vomit
Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Toxic friendship, Injury/Injury detail
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
Minor: Fatphobia
Graphic: Drug use, Gun violence, Sexual content, Violence, Murder
Well written. There are not a lot of these types of books out there - A Black southern man who is half criminal, half family man, and trying to balance two lives that cannot be separated or combined.
Beauregard is an easy to understand and empathize with character. The other characters are more one dimensional and could have been drawn more vividly, but this is an action book at heart, and I enjoyed how the story of his father was woven throughout and you can see the generational trauma and repetition.
TW: violence, murder, fat phobia
Graphic: Gun violence, Violence
Moderate: Fatphobia
Graphic: Cursing, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Racism, Torture, Violence, Medical content, Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Sexual content, Grief
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism
Graphic: Death, Gore, Gun violence, Violence