Reviews

When You Call My Name by Tucker Shaw

melholmes's review against another edition

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4.0

Why do I read books that make me cry my heart out and then call that a fun hobby?

reader_in_the_meadow's review

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challenging emotional informative reflective sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

claire_melanie's review against another edition

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challenging dark emotional hopeful reflective sad 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? No

5.0

evieheart's review

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emotional hopeful slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? N/A
  • Diverse cast of characters? N/A
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.0

dubious_little_creature's review

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emotional sad medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.5


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silver_lining_in_a_book's review against another edition

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emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad 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? No

4.0

 
One day you’re going to wake up and the world won’t be as dark … One day the air will change, and the sun will feel good on your face again, and when it does, I want you to let it. It won’t be a betrayal. It won’t mean you’ve stopped caring. I promise.

What a beautiful book about love, friendship, found family, acceptance and belonging. Tucker Shaw perfectly captures the cruelty and the kindness that humankind can display towards each other through heart-wrenching, emotive language, genuine conversations and actions that speak louder than words.

I truly saw the value of this book. I think most people would benefit from giving this book a go to more deeply understand the hardships people at this time were undergoing - those who were sick, their loved ones and those who were unfairly treated due to the stigma.

Ultimately, I think I would have enjoyed this more at an earlier time in my reading journey. I have already picked up many books on this topic and I don't think this one hit quite as hard. Moreover, the over-the-top "gay voice" and the accents that the narrator undertook for the female characters in the audiobook really bothered me; it took away from the importance of the subject and the immensity of the pain one of our main characters, Adam, was feeling. Nevertheless, the craft of this novel - particularly its structure and mix of perspectives - was very unique and engaging. It was a beautiful little story with so much weight to it. 

ste_est's review

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3.0

this is not a bad book by any means! I think personally, I was just expecting it to be something different based on the other reviews/videos on it. I think for me I was expecting it to gave a stronger emotional impact and then it didn’t. 

however, I really likes how educational it was about AIDS/HIV, especially in showing what people were going through at the time. I found Adam’s storyline to be particularly interesting with Callum and his relationship with Jack and Victor and their friends/family. I liked that their were multiple first hand accounts of what it was like. I didn’t like Ben’s as much, but it was definitely still important, showing the real fear and emotions of someone being gay at the time. 

jonokmitchell's review against another edition

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5.0

I forget where I started crying, but I know that from that point forward I didn’t really stop. Even after as I listened to “Like A Prayer” I wept.

There is so much magic in Queerness. Magic that can only be felt and understood surrounded by those like you. Family. But in Queerness, there is also pain. Pain is an inevitable part of the Queer experience and like magic, that specific type of pain, can only be recognized by the people who’ve also felt it.

Tucker Shaw captures magic and pain in a way that speaks to the very depths of my soul. Sharing moments of such specificity that it felt almost like a secret language. Something that could be read by everyone, but only understood by me. Joe-Joe’s chronicle of the Factory, the Pride parade, Ben’s night at Boy Bar, joy and acceptance in the face of tremendous loss. In those moments I cried the hardest. What magic.

I will wish I could re-read this book over and over again. I wish I could bottle this feeling and come back to it every time I feel small. Surviving while being Queer is one of the bravest things you can do and I’m so proud of those who have and my heart breaks for those who tried their hardest and couldn’t.

Thank you, Tucker Shaw.

mimorireads's review against another edition

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5.0

This book broke my heart. I was listening to the audiobook and I fucking cried in public (literally on the way home from the yoga studio)!! Thought this book was gonna destroy me but it didn’t. The ending was actually quite hopeful. I’m not okay but I’m okay.

cloudstrife34's review

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emotional reflective medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character

4.25