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hawkguyscoffee's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Even with it's slow start the story doesn't fail to make the reader intrigued about it's mistery and at it's climax definetly keeps the reader on their toes (my hands were quite literally shaking as I did). What's more, even if you think you won't, you ultimately fall in love with th characters and start cheering for them. The hard topics of racism and homophobia were, to my opinion, well tackled and even tho I have my criticism about certain plot points I do believe this is an important story that succeeds at talking about the kind of homophobia and toxic masculinity young men are subjected to in the world of American Football. What's more, I loved the dynamic between Joel and his brother that very much reminded me of the one I have with my own and I feel I will always carry their journey and characters in my heart (as well as the rest of the cast who, each for their own reasons, managed to make me fall in love with them too).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Rape, Homophobia, Murder, and Suicide
Moderate: Bullying, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Vomit, Violence, Hate crime, Racism, Drug abuse, Body shaming, Outing, Child abuse, Addiction, Sexual assault, Religious bigotry, and Pedophilia
alexdicanio's review against another edition
dark
tense
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The first 25% of this book, I wasn’t too sure if I would like it, but I kept on pushing. It doesn’t start out slow necessarily, I just wasn’t into it. I am glad that I kept reading. I say that the cast being diverse is complicated because while there is representation for people of color (minimal -1 or 2), and people (specifically men) in the LGBTQIA+ community, the setting is a small conservative town in Texas, so for the most part, people are hiding and are scared to truly be themselves. I don’t want to give anything away because it is hard to explain without spoiling something. This book deals very heavily with homophobia, racism, and sexual assault - so please be warned. I think it was written very well and I did enjoy all of the different character’s POV’s. What kind of threw me off guard was this added sort of “supernatural” element. It wasn’t, bad I just didn’t expect it. I understand why it was in there, but I also think this could have been an excellent book if the supernatural wasn’t there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, and Violence
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship
There are a lot of trigger warnings for this book. I wasn’t too sure where to put the warning for “adult/minor relationship” because it isn’t gone into a lot of detail. There are however, mentions of figures of authority and students being in a (primarily sexual) relationship. I can’t say much else without giving it away.
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