You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.54 AVERAGE
3.54 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Grief, Murder
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
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, Homophobia, Rape, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual assault, Violence, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Outing
The ending goes off the rails in the best way possible. Also gay horror, need I say more.
challenging
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book was crazy, especially the end. The beginning of the story and the end actually seem like two completely different books. That wasn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it definitely took turns I was not expecting. We are reading from multiple points of view, but we mainly follow Joel who left his conservative home town in Texas 10 years ago to move to New York. He ends up returning to this place when his younger brother, the star quarterback of the high school, goes missing. I thought this was just going to be a straight forward mystery, but it had elements of horror and thriller. Some parts were legitimately creepy and it builds up to this moment toward the end where all hell breaks loose. I thought the characterization was a little lacking as was the organization of the story-line. The writing overall wasn’t bad, but I didn’t care much for the dialogue. What was done best was conveying that claustrophobic, all white, judgmental, small town vibe