Reviews tagging 'Injury/Injury detail'

All Boys Aren't Blue by George M. Johnson

20 reviews

the_true_monroe's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Sexual assault, Pedophilia, and Violence

Moderate: Sexual content, Transphobia, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Outing, Homophobia, Terminal illness, and Cancer

Minor: Slavery, Misogyny, Deadnaming, and Murder

grboph's review against another edition

emotional hopeful informative reflective fast-paced

5.0

This was quite the book. George M. Johnson is an incredible person, and their story is a very important one for everyone to hear. The incredible thing about this story is that while most memoirs are about someone with a very unique or unusual story, Johnson's is very commonplace, it just has hardly ever been told before. On top of its importance to society, the book is also full of stories about Johnson's life that are heartwarming, sad, and everything in between. I'm so glad I got to experience this book, and I would recommend it to absolutely anyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Pedophilia, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Homophobia, Racial slurs, and Incest

Moderate: Chronic illness, Alcohol, Drug use, Bullying, Cursing, Deadnaming, Dysphoria, Medical content, Cancer, Outing, and Mental illness

Minor: Addiction and Injury/Injury detail

mme_carton's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Death of parent, Drug abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Blood, Bullying, Cancer, and Transphobia

Moderate: Alcohol, Cultural appropriation, Outing, and Mental illness

Minor: Fire/Fire injury

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Racism, Cursing, Death, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Bullying, Child abuse, and Incest

Moderate: Alcohol, Drug use, Cultural appropriation, and Cancer

rosietoast's review

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Incest, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, and Bullying

bandysbooks's review

challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective fast-paced

5.0

It’s hard to rate a memoir, particularly when it’s so personal and vulnerable. This memoir reflects on a lot of difficult topics in ways that make them understandable to a large variety of people. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Injury/Injury detail, Rape, Racism, and Hate crime

katsbooks's review against another edition

challenging emotional informative fast-paced

4.5

"We are not as different as you think, and all our stories matter and deserve to be celebrated and told."

"Navigating in a space that questions your humanity isn't really living at all. It's existing. We all deserve more than just the ability to exist."

"American history is truly the greatest fable ever written."

"Knowledge is your sharpest weapon in a world that is hell-bent on telling you stories that are simply not true."

I always feel weird rating memoirs so take my star rating with a grain of salt. The strangeness lies in giving a star rating to someone's life. Like, how can I do that? So my rating is mostly based on social content and writing style. 

I loved a lot of things about this book. I really like that it is written in a way that is accessible to teenagers. It is clear and concise in it's messaging while also being personal and impactful. It also doesn't shy away from tough topics. The author often addresses the sentiment that he wants this book to serve as an example of queer, Black human existing and thriving as a full human with a lifetime of positive and negative experiences. I especially appreciated the chapters on his school experiences. As an educator, it's always good to hear students have experienced the school system. 

My only major critique is that tone of the writing felt... immature? I'm not sure if that's the verbiage I want to use but I got the feeling sometimes that I was reading an essay from one of my high school students. That being said, though, it's meant for high school students so I can definitely understand if that was done on purpose. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Dysphoria, Misogyny, Police brutality, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Racial slurs, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Addiction, Cursing, Drug use, Outing, Terminal illness, Alcohol, Death, and Transphobia

monalyisha's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

All Boys Aren’t Blue is both a memoir and a manifesto, intended for a young adult audience. Its tone is both academic and intensely personal. It’s a lot of things all at once — which makes total sense, given the subject matter (and the nature of humanity)! Specifically, it’s about growing up queer and black in America  — as an upper-middle-class person with a loving and supportive family (not a narrative we hear often enough). 

Though it feels crummy to say, I didn’t think I was going to like the book at first. The writing, when it’s not erudite in tone, is conversational and it needs sharper editing (the word “though” is vastly overused, for instance). Johnson’s vocal performance is also a bit stumbling. I settled in, however, and I think their goal is accomplished: providing a (sometimes embarrassing) warm, honest, and candid account of life for people who are often ignored. Johnson’s goal is to be a mirror and they shine.

The chapter “Losing My Virginity Twice,” which includes an impassioned call for better — and inclusive!!!— sexual education in America, is vital. Johnson carefully highlights the very real damage that can be (and IS) done by leaving kids ignorant and concurrently teaching them shame. They provide concrete examples from their own life. It’s sometimes difficult to hear but it’s also nigh-impossible to ignore. There’s so much hurt (physical and mental) that doesn’t need to happen, and Johnson leaves us feeling that we can all do better - and that it’s reasonable to work for change, and to hope.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Outing, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic relationship, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Terminal illness

krys_kilz's review against another edition

emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

I don't feel that I can rate this book. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I think that's because it's directed towards a younger audience. I can see how this book would be really great and affirming for teens and tweens - particularly Black queer boys. I'm glad it's out there in the world! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual content, Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Death, Deadnaming, Transphobia, Grief, and Bullying

Minor: Mental illness and Drug use

matheo's review

emotional informative reflective

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Incest, Injury/Injury detail, Outing, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Transphobia, and Violence

Moderate: Blood, Cancer, Child abuse, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Grief, Medical content, Pedophilia, Sexism, and Transphobia