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kaywhiteley's review
5.0
CW: sibling loss, grief, mention of car accidents and drunk driving, rape culture, homophobia, bullying, alcohol abuse, sexual assault, suicide attempt, suicidal thoughts, religious trauma, depression, hospitalization
One thing about me is that I love reading books that hurt me. As a queer former Christian whose brother died when they were young, this is the type of book I wish I had when I was a young adult. The descriptions of grief, especially while still living with your parents and going to school with kids who do not understand what it's like to lose a sibling, were incredibly accurate and made me feel somewhat comforted in my experiences. Grief feels so lonely, especially when you lose a sibling, and this book made me feel much less alone and I wish I had it in those times when I felt most lonely.
I also appreciated that the book gave hope without being unrealistic. He found a group of friends to support and love him, but they're teenagers and sometimes they don't know how to support each other. He's queer and found people who accept him, but his parents didn't have a sudden, miraculous change of heart. Everything isn't perfect and I think that type of messy ending is representative of life.
Maybe I liked this book so much because of how much I related or how much my younger self needed representation like this, but I cannot overstate how much this book meant to me.
One thing about me is that I love reading books that hurt me. As a queer former Christian whose brother died when they were young, this is the type of book I wish I had when I was a young adult. The descriptions of grief, especially while still living with your parents and going to school with kids who do not understand what it's like to lose a sibling, were incredibly accurate and made me feel somewhat comforted in my experiences. Grief feels so lonely, especially when you lose a sibling, and this book made me feel much less alone and I wish I had it in those times when I felt most lonely.
I also appreciated that the book gave hope without being unrealistic. He found a group of friends to support and love him, but they're teenagers and sometimes they don't know how to support each other. He's queer and found people who accept him, but his parents didn't have a sudden, miraculous change of heart. Everything isn't perfect and I think that type of messy ending is representative of life.
Maybe I liked this book so much because of how much I related or how much my younger self needed representation like this, but I cannot overstate how much this book meant to me.
z_brarian's review
4.0
Grief, depression, suicidal thoughts, death of a loved one, feeling alone…this book runs the gamut. The message being YOU ARE NOT ALONE. There are people out there who get it, get what you are going through, who will be there for you in your darkest time. That it’s ok to ask for help. My only “complaint” was the time hop. What was done to help Matt? Does Kermit ever really talk to his parents? I would have liked to learn more about the others in the group. Thank you to the author for writing this book and for all the resources provided at the end of the book.
econsidine's review against another edition
This one has the honor of being the first YA book I've worked on and actually stopped to read because it was distractingly good. It's about a closeted teen (who, contrary to basically every closeted trope in fiction ever, never comes out to his family over the course of the story ) who recently lost his older sister in a car accident. Despite the weirdly cutesy title that doesn't reflect the tone of the book, the author writes about grief, alcoholism, homophobia, religious bigotry, and depression in a down-to-earth, non-cliche way that feels like it would be actually helpful and relatable to teens who are experiencing these things, unlike a lot of similar YA books with these topics (*cough cough* 13 Reasons Why *cough*) It's the kind of book I would really have loved when I was 16 or 17, and will save to recommend if I ever have any 16- or 17-year-olds in my life.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Mental illness, Death, Grief, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Addiction, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death, Cancer, Forced institutionalization, Sexual assault, Car accident, Terminal illness, and Homophobia
booknerdkc's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
kerasalwaysreading's review
5.0
This was exactly what I thought it was going to be. This is a look into the faces of grief and loss through not only our protagonist, but many others throughout the book.
I was moved by the powerful messages in The Minus One Club from Kekla Magoon on topics of loss, healing, and faith. Everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently and she has demonstrated that incredibly here. Kermit, our protagonist is dealing with the loss of his sister and he is approached by a secret club of kids at school who have all met loss like his. They show each other that sometimes you need to be around people who get it without pressure of talking about it.
The character dynamics in this book were so real. Between Kermit and his parents. Between Kermit and the boy he REALLY likes. Between he and his sister, who is a pretty big presence in the book (which I loved).
This was fantastic and heartbreaking, but also really special. I’m so glad I read it.
I was moved by the powerful messages in The Minus One Club from Kekla Magoon on topics of loss, healing, and faith. Everyone deals with the death of a loved one differently and she has demonstrated that incredibly here. Kermit, our protagonist is dealing with the loss of his sister and he is approached by a secret club of kids at school who have all met loss like his. They show each other that sometimes you need to be around people who get it without pressure of talking about it.
The character dynamics in this book were so real. Between Kermit and his parents. Between Kermit and the boy he REALLY likes. Between he and his sister, who is a pretty big presence in the book (which I loved).
This was fantastic and heartbreaking, but also really special. I’m so glad I read it.
devinjm12's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
4.25
louismunozjr's review
4.0
Very much enjoyed this book. I'd rate it closer to 4.5 stars. Super readable and relatable. Perhaps one or two false, or false-ish notes, but nothing too outrageous. I was definitely engaged from the first page(s), and would recommend this book to a wide variety of readers. Some things DON'T get resolved, neatly or otherwise, which I especially liked, appreciated, and found believable.
readingtheend's review against another edition
3.0
Kekla Magoon is so great and so tender. I love her. This is a book about teenagers who have lost someone in their life, and they get together to talk about everything except that loss. I loved this premise and loved how clearly the book shows that it's not adaptive to live in the silence all the time.
mooped_'s review against another edition
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
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? Yes
2.75
karissayoung's review
3.0
Premise: Following the death of his sister, Kermit Sanders is invited to the Minus-One Club – a moral support group comprising a number of classmates who share the experience of having lost a loved one.
This was a good read that could be really impactful for a specific group of adolescents going through similar hardships. It’s a heavy and emotional book that explores loss, grief, bullying, sexuality, homophobia, religion, and much more. I feel like there is a very long list of content warnings associated with this story – so many that it can seem messy, but in all honesty, adolescence and coming-of-age are just messy periods of life.
While I didn’t fully connect with this story, it did tug at my heartstrings and I did appreciate the character construction. If I ever come across a student struggling with similar challenges, I will definitely recommend this story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Kekla Magoon for this ARC of The Minus-One Club.
This was a good read that could be really impactful for a specific group of adolescents going through similar hardships. It’s a heavy and emotional book that explores loss, grief, bullying, sexuality, homophobia, religion, and much more. I feel like there is a very long list of content warnings associated with this story – so many that it can seem messy, but in all honesty, adolescence and coming-of-age are just messy periods of life.
While I didn’t fully connect with this story, it did tug at my heartstrings and I did appreciate the character construction. If I ever come across a student struggling with similar challenges, I will definitely recommend this story.
Thank you to NetGalley, Henry Holt and Co., and Kekla Magoon for this ARC of The Minus-One Club.