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bibliobethica's review against another edition
4.0
I read a lot of Native American fiction, but this was certainly unexpected. Sequoya is a foster child with many issues. The author puts us deep inside his head to the point where I won't soon forget him. I don't mind a dark narrative when it's written in such a way that I'm connected to the characters. This is not a light read in anyway; it's for readers that want an experience as Sequoya goes through heartbreaking challenges.
ggrillion's review against another edition
dark
sad
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
3.75
larkspurlane's review against another edition
challenging
dark
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
pearloz's review against another edition
4.0
I wish this book had been longer--it felt like a prelude to life with the Troutt family. I want more of George, more of the bookie, and we get almost nothing about Mrs. Troutt (she forgets her shopping a list a lot, I guess?). Sequoya was a believable character but throughout the book, his thoughts and ideas strayed into violence/sadism (but how much of that is a broken mind and how much of it is being a 15 y/o w/ an unstable mother who burned your face on accident?), and you could feel the book sort of building up to something terrible and violent. I didn't suspect what was apparently inevitable; I really thought it was going to be Sequoya who did something.
I 100% blame the bookie for what happened. So she took a little money from your illegal gambling operation--because of that you're having her sent back to the institution? Didn't want your precious illegal operation getting sniffed at by the authorities? So much so that you're having the girl sent away? You said she didn't take that much...what a piece of shit. Suck it up, take the hit, move on.
The only real issue I had was that the book lapsed into overwriting in some instances--some characters spoke in a very...writerly way that strained credulity and took me right out of the book. Otherwise, this was a fine book.
I 100% blame the bookie for what happened. So she took a little money from your illegal gambling operation--because of that you're having her sent back to the institution? Didn't want your precious illegal operation getting sniffed at by the authorities? So much so that you're having the girl sent away? You said she didn't take that much...what a piece of shit. Suck it up, take the hit, move on.
The only real issue I had was that the book lapsed into overwriting in some instances--some characters spoke in a very...writerly way that strained credulity and took me right out of the book. Otherwise, this was a fine book.
briellejune's review against another edition
1.0
Not my favorite writing style, and I find it to be a little disturbing in some parts of the book.
hatseflats's review against another edition
5.0
I really didn't know what to expect when I began reading Brandon Hobson's novel. I knew that it was about a 15-year-old Cherokee boy sent to live in a foster home in rural Oklahoma in 1989, but that was about it. The story is told from the first person voice of boy Sequoyah and in such a believable way that at times I felt like I was reading memoir and not fiction. For the most part, the characters are all likeable, and also, to varying degrees, humanly imperfect. There was such fragile human emotion that it made me want to reach through the pages of the book and embrace the characters at time. In brief: I loved this book!
stitching_ghost's review against another edition
4.0
3.5 Rounded up.
I'm not entirely sure what I read, it was confusing at times, uncomfortable at times and sometimes very dark, it felt like perhaps the most real coming of age narrative I have ever read and entirely alien at the same time.
For the ace/sex repulsed in the room: approach with care the MC thinks about sex and sexual violence a fair bit and sometimes it comes at you seemingly out of the blue. That being said I wouldn't say this book is particularly horny, the approach to sex is rather neutral (the main character speaks rather neutrally of just about everything).
I'm not entirely sure what I read, it was confusing at times, uncomfortable at times and sometimes very dark, it felt like perhaps the most real coming of age narrative I have ever read and entirely alien at the same time.
For the ace/sex repulsed in the room: approach with care the MC thinks about sex and sexual violence a fair bit and sometimes it comes at you seemingly out of the blue. That being said I wouldn't say this book is particularly horny, the approach to sex is rather neutral (the main character speaks rather neutrally of just about everything).
salmonfry's review against another edition
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
2.0
a little emo but nice off beat YA
amb3rlina's review against another edition
3.0
Novel about a Native American teenager in foster care. It started out very strong, but my interest waned. I didn't walk away with a strong connection to the protagonist or an understanding of what I should have taken away from the narrative.
muse692's review against another edition
2.0
If you thought Romeo and Juliet needed more trauma and toxicity, this book might be for you. A little too dark for my taste.