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caleb_tankersley's review
4.0
This is a wonderful, important novel. The character are vivid and realized and surprise you with their incredibly human reactions. There's some very fancy writing in spots, which makes for a bit of slogging. But I'd say that amounts to about fifteen pages out of 300. The rest is beautifully written. I was emotionally smitten by the ending. Jimmy and Josh are truly a couple for the ages. But there were so many other interestingly drawn aspects to the novel. The Creek history. Lucille's voice. The Ozark small-towniness of the people. The inescapable pall of religion over rural gay men. God, this was just fantastic. An essential read for Queer Native studies for sure, but a great book for anyone to dive into.
moonbites's review
So, I am not going to give this one a rating because I was required to read this for a class, which added to the struggle of reading this book. However I did enjoy the discussions in class about the text, which helped me appreciate the themes and messages of the story. Yet, reading it on my own I doubt I would have interpreted the text correctly, because I couldn’t get past the writing style.
Unfortunately the story jumped around and was too convoluted for me, although I realize now that the narrative style played into the idea of native storytelling, I couldn’t appreciate this when reading on my own. I like a nice and tidy story, I like things linear, with maybe some convoluted aspects if necessary. But, the unreliable story telling lead to too many metaphors for me to piece together, and I found myself more confused than enthralled.
The book has some exciting messages, and maybe if I had more time to read this without the expectation of due dates I may have liked it more. The book does provide an important commentary on Native-Queer identity.
Unfortunately the story jumped around and was too convoluted for me, although I realize now that the narrative style played into the idea of native storytelling, I couldn’t appreciate this when reading on my own. I like a nice and tidy story, I like things linear, with maybe some convoluted aspects if necessary. But, the unreliable story telling lead to too many metaphors for me to piece together, and I found myself more confused than enthralled.
The book has some exciting messages, and maybe if I had more time to read this without the expectation of due dates I may have liked it more. The book does provide an important commentary on Native-Queer identity.
hannahntoth's review against another edition
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
ericgaryanderson's review
5.0
I reread Craig's novel and, second time around, this story about growing up gay in rural Creek Oklahoma is EVEN BETTER.
emilymckenna's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
slow-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
This book is amazing. The writing, the characters, the plot. Everything is so well crafted and thought out. I especially enjoyed the way in which time was regarded; I thought it was a really insightful and interesting contribution to an already beautiful novel. Highly recommend.
tracey1981's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
tense
slow-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
4.0
thedairyman's review
4.0
This book falls into the trap of many duel perspective books in that if it had stuck with the character I really enjoyed, then the book would've been 5 stars, but I really struggled to get through some of the chapters that focused on the other character so that knocked down my overall star rating.
The book was still a great read though and if you're just reading this for fun, know that each chapter is more or less self contained, so if you are struggling, I recommend skipping that chapter rather than giving up on the book entirely.
The book was still a great read though and if you're just reading this for fun, know that each chapter is more or less self contained, so if you are struggling, I recommend skipping that chapter rather than giving up on the book entirely.