Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Old Enough by Haley Jakobson

51 reviews

kitaface's review against another edition

emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol

amanda_marie's review

dark emotional funny hopeful reflective 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? Yes

5.0

I’ve never before read a book that felt like the author put my thoughts into a book, but that’s exactly the feeling I had reading Old Enough. As a bisexual finding her community, the queer characters were so real and hilarious and I wished I had friends like Candace and Vera. I also fully respect Haley for writing main characters with multiple pronouns. It was refreshing to see such trans and non-binary representation in writing. As an overthinking insecure person, the narration cracked me up every single time. I am fortunate to not relate closely to the main trauma of the book, but I felt it that much more fully for the ways in which I had already related. And I found the switching of third and second person made those sections even more impactful. The ending was surprisingly satisfying despite my having no idea what would satisfy me. It is a beautifully endearing book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Bullying and Transphobia

phoebeeandjam's review

emotional funny 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? Yes

4.0

Old Enough is a queer coming-of-age story about a bisexual college student.  This isn’t the kind of thing I typically reach for because it can so easily become cringey (like when an author tries too hard to relate to young people but misses the mark) buut I found this genuinely relatable. It was a little bit YA and a bit cheesy at some points but overall I enjoyed it! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

milliepaterson's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual violence

nosmallthing's review

emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted 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? It's complicated

5.0

Just the best book. Feels like a hug to girlhood and survivorship. One I will reread forever.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Rape, Sexual assault, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Biphobia, Sexual content, and Alcohol

shector1's review against another edition

emotional reflective tense 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Alcohol

Moderate: Bullying, Domestic abuse, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Biphobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, and Gaslighting

laketwentytwo's review against another edition

challenging emotional funny hopeful sad 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexual content, and Gaslighting

Minor: Blood

missb_reads's review

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? It's complicated

5.0

Thank you to Netgalley and Dutton for digital arc access in exchange for an honest review.

I have been so excited to read this book since Haley first announced it, and wow it was everything I could have hoped it would be. As with all of Haley's writing, I was pulled into to this story from the very start and truly could not put it down.

This story was messy, and full of heart, and honest. I loved seeing Sav's journey through her baby queerness, understanding her trauma, and finding friends and relationships that see her at her fullest self. It's a story I wish I'd had when I was just discovering my queerness, and one that I still need now when trying to process the trauma of my childhood and teen years.

"No one can know what your experience was except for you. If you say your experience was different now, because you have a greater understanding if it, then that's the truth. That's your truth."

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Transphobia and Vomit

caseythereader's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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? Yes

5.0

Thanks to Dutton Books for the free copy of this book.

 - My goodness, this book. OLD ENOUGH absolutely took my breath away. It's doing so much that it shouldn't work, but somehow it does and it steals your heart in the process.
- Sav and her friends are the queer found family I always hope for in literary fiction but never find. They're loud and messy and loving, projecting a confidence they don't always have but are working to gain.
- I do want to be really clear that this is a book about reckoning with assault and its lasting effects. It's a hard subject and Jakobsen handles it with nuance and care, even when her characters can't or don't. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse

Minor: Biphobia and Transphobia

emmas_bookshelf's review

emotional hopeful 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? It's complicated

5.0

This. Book.

I want everyone to read it. It’s so poignant and moving and emotional but probably the top descriptor I would choose is real. There’s so much truth and earnestness in Sav as she works to unpack her trauma and allow herself to bloom. And the interactions with her friends, her classmates, her family, all come across in a way that you can imagine them, as if you’re sitting across the table taking in the conversations. What a gift Haley Jakobson has in writing honestly and reflectively about queer joy, friendship, found family, trauma, and more. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Biphobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Grief, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Drug use, and Gaslighting