Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Mongrels by Stephen Graham Jones

17 reviews

bookwormbi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I didn't get this book for most of the time I was reading it. If you're not here for a literary take on werewolves, this book isn't for you. That said, the ending absolutely made the book for me. the last two chapters finally let me know where the book was going and what it was meant to be about, and I'm going to be thinking about it for a while to come. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Blood, Body horror, Gun violence, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Abandonment, Vomit, Kidnapping, Injury/Injury detail, Confinement, Rape, Domestic abuse, Torture, Grief, Cannibalism, and Sexual violence

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

There's mentions of bestiality.

nodogsonthemoon's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Excrement, Violence, Cannibalism, Death of parent, Pregnancy, Death, Gore, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Alcohol, Adult/minor relationship, and Alcoholism

corar's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Mongrels is a coming of age story about a boy who lives with his aunt and uncle on the fringes of society. They are outcasts that are barely getting by and constantly on the move. The chapters of the book are vignettes of his life that are not always told in order. There will be a chapter when he is eleven and the next will be when he is fifteen and the next will go back to when he is nine. They also switch from first person to third person between chapters. Despite the confusion this could cause, it worked. All of the chapters and the stories they told fit together and the order makes sense for the story. While this is a story about werewolves, it is much more than that. It is a coming of age story about a boy trying to figure out his place in the world. It has a much more literary feel than other werewolf books I have read. I think that anyone that likes werewolf stories should include this in their reading plans, but that those that like more realism in their books may enjoy it too.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death of parent, Death, Excrement, Injury/Injury detail, Vomit, and Animal death

Moderate: Alcohol, Death of parent, and Kidnapping

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Bullying, Cannibalism, Car accident, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, and Pregnancy

gilnean's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Murder, and Violence

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, and Body horror

Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Pregnancy

cmvcaulfield's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Animal cruelty, and Animal death

Moderate: Vomit

anishinaabekwereads's review against another edition

dark 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? It's complicated

5.0

 Let's talk about werewolves that make me want to cry. I'm pretty sure it's a feat unique to Stephen Graham Jones. I don't really do "monster" stories. I never much cared about vampires, never read many werewolf stories. I've never actually watched many werewolf flicks either. This might be why I put off reading Mongrels for so long. I was scared of the potential ambivalence. I shouldn't have been, of course, because SGJ pretty much always delivers for me. And like usual, I was holding back tears by the end.

It's hard to describe this book. It's "horror," but so much more. It's a story about a boy coming of age, about realizing the truth(s) of being a "mixedblood" child raised by (were)wolves. This story is about craving and longing and danger and thrill. It's about stories and survival. And mostly it's about unconditional love and growing up.

This book is bone and blood deep. I had to read it slowly because I dreamed too vividly while reading. As pretty much all of his work has content warnings, be aware of gore, violence, and animal and human death. If you're interested but have been waiting, don't wait any longer. Read this one now. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, and Gore

Moderate: Death of parent

sofipitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

I adored this book. I'm a slut for monsters as a metaphor for being an outsider, and this book delivered! I really hope this author does a vampire book, I just know it would be great.

I put complicated for diversity bc the character's race is never mentioned (there's an explanation for that at the end and well as why the main character character doesn't share his name) but I pictured the characters as Native American, since I knew that's the author's identity. There's also a part in the book where a child asks the MC if he's Mexican, which is common for Native Americans. But it's not 100% the characters are BIPOC 🤷‍♀️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent, Grief, Excrement, Cannibalism, Animal death, and Kidnapping