Reviews

Brother & Sister Enter the Forest by Richard Mirabella

senchastories's review

dark emotional reflective slow-paced

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

2.0

I gotta be honest, I have no idea what this book was trying to achieve. As a character study it fell pretty flat for me, as there didn't seem to be a consistent line of development for either main character, but it definitely wasn't a plot-driven novel either. This book ends without any kind of resolution, which I don't always take issue with, but in this instance it felt totally unsatisfying after not getting anything out of the rest of the story. I wasn't a fan of the narrator, which definitely didn't help, but even without that added annoyance I didn't really find anything in this to love.

(Also I'm still not over the author calling a flying squirrel "exotic" when they are literally native to New York) 

cupidcove's review

emotional fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

While I think there were a lot of individual interesting emotional character moments and the bones of a good story in this book, I was caught off guard by the fragmented nature of the text. The text relies heavily on the changing relationship between Lila and Justin and yet cuts you off from seeing the fallout of the biggest changes in that relationship. While I understand the desire to span a huge portion of our protagonists' lives in a relatively short book, I think we needed a better focus or a dedication to showing the detailed changes in their relationship to make this piece truly successful.  

7danut7's review

for the "I wish I could love you without baring my teeth" siblings or (if I'm permitted one Succession reference) for the "I love you but i can't fucking stomach you" siblings

jacob_books_corneryt's review

DNF @ 25%, not sure if I'll come back

scott_thelibrarian's review against another edition

5.0

I want to say all the curse words not because I didn't enjoy it but because it gave me all the fucking feels. This book is a wild ride of emotions from beginning to end. Richard's tale of Willa and Justin, two siblings, is something like I've never read before. You are not meant to feel happiness throughout the book; you are meant to feel sorrow, joy, heartbreak, sympathy, anger, fear, etc. Reading Justin and Willa's story is difficult to read because of everything they go through; things no child should have to endure, especially from people who are supposed to care for and love you. There were times that I was uncomfortable, but that is all part of the necessary journey. This is not a story of happily ever after, and I'm glad it wasn't because it made me feel and think so much. Richard is a great new voice in the queer literary world, and I can't wait to read more of his work in the future. I highly recommend but be prepared to read some uncomfortable topics and storylines; however, I truly hope you do pick this book up because it is a story that needs to be read.

agreco92's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

thecuteimp's review

dark sad medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia

clairemariarose's review against another edition

3.0

i have some real conflicting feelings about this one. i did find it compulsively readable and i always wanted to keep reading. but i think the execution left a little to be desired. willa didn’t feel like a complete character to me, the timelines were confusing, and it was all just a little too open-ended for me.

overall this is an impressive debut and i look forward to what the author does next, but this book just left me wanting a little bit more.

zamyatins_fears's review

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

clovis_clover's review

dark reflective relaxing tense medium-paced

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

4.25