Reviews tagging 'Death'

Dear Mothman by Robin Gow

10 reviews

gilnean's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Death, Grief, Outing, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Child death, and Bullying

Minor: Racism, Colonisation, and Sexual content

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Outing, Transphobia, Bullying, Deadnaming, and Ableism

Minor: Car accident

flower_mail's review

emotional hopeful mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Transphobia

Minor: Outing, Car accident, Homophobia, and Self harm

caseybug's review against another edition

emotional hopeful sad medium-paced

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

2.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Car accident, Child death, and Death

ecallahan's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Outing, Child death, Grief, Car accident, and Deadnaming

readingpicnic's review against another edition

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Child death, Death, and Grief

moonytoast's review

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief

Moderate: Death and Bullying

Minor: Car accident

moonyreadsbystarlight's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective

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

5.0

An epistolary novel told in verse, Dear Mothman follows Noah, a closed trans, autistic sixth-grader after the death of his best friend, Lewis. Noah decides to write to Monthman, a cryptid that Lewis loved, and find proof that he exists. More than that, this is a story about greiving, friendship, queerness, and growing up.

We watch as Noah makes friends and grows, even while still remembering and greiving. There is so much about finding your people, understanding and being understood - but also the struggle of communicating and opening up enough to let people understand you. 

So much about this book was incredible and touching, it's hard to put it into words. It takes some unexpected turns and was healing and cathartic in a way that only queer middle grade/YA lit can be. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Bullying, and Grief

Moderate: Transphobia, Death, and Outing

Minor: Car accident

misterbojangles's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective 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? No

4.5

Loved this book. Written in the form of letter-poems, Noah grapples with the loss of his best friend Lewis. He finds comfort in writing letters to Mothman, who Lewis loved and with whom Noah feels an intense kinship with as a fellow misunderstood misfit. When clues start to emerge that Mothman might be out there reading Noah’s letters, Noah becomes obsessed with finding Mothman. This book contains beautiful meditations on grief, belonging, and queer/trans identity and left me considering what separates monsters and men.   

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Bullying, Grief, Child death, and Death

danaslitlist's review

adventurous challenging emotional reflective fast-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? No

4.75

"Dear Mothman,

Thank you for trusting me and coming to visit my camera. I know it's hard being what people might consider a monster. It seems to me that "monsters" are almost always misunderstood - that "monster" is what people become when other people are afraid of them for being different. People like me are called monsters sometimes."

I fully believe this story to belong in the "important and necessary" readings for middle grade readers. Dear Mothman is a story of grief and healing and finding your identity. 

There’s something about how queer people, especially kids, feel so seen and understood by idea of cryptids and monsters….and the way that we Noah talk about how it makes sense because just like him, people don’t understand Mothman. They’re scared of him, they don’t believe in him, they don’t see him or they don’t want to. 

The way this book in theory is such a simple plot and premise but in reality is so deep and touching. I found myself on multiple occasions putting my hand on my heart because I could feel myself mirrored in instances and quotes. I think this is such a valuable story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Transphobia and Bullying