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jpratt's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Murder, Hate crime, Gore, Homophobia, Transphobia, Gun violence, Death of parent, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Mass/school shootings, Racial slurs, Racism, and Violence
lapuce1006's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Cursing, Murder, Infidelity, Homophobia, Death, Deadnaming, Addiction, Alcohol, Hate crime, Blood, Violence, Racial slurs, Gun violence, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
3littlewordz's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Cancer, Alcoholism, Grief, Abandonment, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Racism, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, Gun violence, Blood, and Violence
Moderate: Death of parent, Alcohol, Emotional abuse, Transphobia, and Deadnaming
Minor: Kidnapping
aformeracceleratedreader's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Death, Murder, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Medical content, Racism, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, and Transphobia
stephhamp's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
My grievance with the book was the (my grievance only) this need for Ike to have to explain to Buddy, why being black in America is difficult. It's hard to read this tired trope of bigoted or racist white people, having to meet a "good" black person to begin to break down their racism. They have to have a common enemy with black people to even begin and explore the idea of working together or reaching out. Buddy needed a person to help him solve this mystery. If he didn't need Ike he wouldn't in a million years be in this partnership with a black man. But this is a reality for so many people, relationships, families, and circumstances. And Ike is not by any means perfect. They're both men who did horrible things and made horrible choices in life and parenting. They've both killed people
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, Gun violence, Hate crime, Alcohol, and Blood
Moderate: Torture, Gore, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Racism, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Death of parent, Stalking, and Vomit
horizonous's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Graphic: Racial slurs, Violence, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, and Racism
Moderate: Child death, Kidnapping, Blood, Murder, Transphobia, Death, Excrement, Gore, and Grief
Minor: Deadnaming, Car accident, Death of parent, and Alcoholism
taniasbookdiary's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Homophobia, Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Death of parent
Moderate: Kidnapping, Hate crime, Transphobia, Racial slurs, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Deadnaming
cadence99's review against another edition
3.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Hate crime, Torture, Transphobia, Violence, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Racism, Murder, Cancer, Lesbophobia, Car accident, Injury/Injury detail, Terminal illness, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Gun violence, Homophobia, Alcohol, Medical trauma, Physical abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Deadnaming, Death, Medical content, Blood, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Vomit, Addiction, Body horror, Grief, and Kidnapping
hkveit's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racism, Homophobia, Hate crime, Violence, Gore, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, Sexism, and Transphobia
Minor: Excrement, Deadnaming, Death of parent, and Grief
brandilovesbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
I almost quit about a third of the way into the book. I found the book to be very violent. I am not the targeted audience. I continued reading because it was a book club book. I am glad I did.
The characters are very well developed. Even if you didn't agree with their choices, you found yourself caring for Ike and Buddy Lee. I cried at the end.
S.A. Crosby has a beautiful way with words. He is able to create vivid images to go with his words. The name of the book comes from a description of Ike's tears after his son's funeral.
The genius of this book is that it has a very specific, very important, message that is probably uncomfortable for the targeted audience. There are many guys just like Buddy Lee and Ike who are going to pick up this book for the vigilante justice and the war with a biker gang. They are going to read it and they are going to hear that message over and over, starting out subtly but getting more direct by the end.
I wasn't a fan of the almost omnipotent point of view that happened during fight scenes. Although there were multiple points of view throughout the book, they were separated by scenes. During the fight scenes I was overwhelmed by knowing what too many characters were thinking and feeling. (Could be that I'm not the targeted audience.)
I recommend this book to people who like to read about vigilante justice and biker gangs. Sons of Anarchy fans should pick this up.
My content warnings-
Violence
Murder
Kidnapping
Torture
Racial slurs
LGBTQ slurs
Dead naming
Graphic: Homophobia, Murder, Hate crime, Blood, Gun violence, Racial slurs, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Gore, Torture, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Violence, Classism, Grief, and Religious bigotry