Reviews tagging 'Fatphobia'

Simon Sort of Says by Erin Bow

8 reviews

megalarza's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders

Minor: Fatphobia

stacyaj's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful fast-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

Oh, my heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Fatphobia

adotzam's review

emotional funny hopeful sad 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

5.0

Stunningly perfect. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mass/school shootings, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, and Gun violence

Minor: Fatphobia

betweentheshelves's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful 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

A beautifully written book about healing from trauma and the friends that you meet along the way. Simon is dealing with the aftermath of a school shooting in which he was the only survivor. Trying to get away from all the media attention, him and his parents move to Grin and Bear It, Nebraska--a National Quiet Zone where the internet is banned. Here, Simon is determined to not let anyone know about his past.

The tone of the book fits perfectly for a middle grade audience, despite the slightly darker undertone of trauma. Simon and his friends get up to some ridiculous hijinks (some of them include emus), and I think it works so well for the target audience.

All of the characters are also fully developed, including Simon's parents. Their interactions are just lovely, and it's clear that Simon's parents care a lot for him. 

I can definitely see why this was one of the longlist books for the National Book Award!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Vomit and Fatphobia

ladysmoke's review

adventurous challenging emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective 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? It's complicated

5.0

Sometimes a book finds you at the perfect point in your life. It falls into your hands at just the right moment to have maximum impact, and I think that's what happened for me with this book. This story features Simon, sole survivor of his 5th grade class after a school shooting, trying to start over in a town with no internet, cell phones, tv, or anything else that may interfere with the Very Large Radio Telescope, and therefore, with no way of anyone in town finding out who he is and what he's been through. We follow Simon through some pretty silly situations that had me laughing out loud, and also some really tense moments of PTSD that had me sobbing. All the characters in this book were so alive; I loved them all. 
As someone who works in the school system, and who is the mother of a 5th grader, I have plenty of experience coping the fear of a potential active shooter situation, and those parts of the story definitely hit me hard. But that impact was so purposeful, and it's clear the intended result was genuine compassion for families like Simon's. If ever there was a juvenile book that I think adults needed to read more than kids, this would be it. The chance of finding stories like this one is why I still shop the juvenile section at my library. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Blood, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Fatphobia

This book is a tough read to be sure, but the content is handled expertly. The point is not shock value, horror, or disgust, but rather hope and perseverance, and friendships. The focus is not about what happened during the shooting, which is only described in brief flashes, but rather about what happens after, when they are trying to move on.

makeminemonsters's review

challenging emotional funny reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I thought this was a really well-written, sensitive story (while also being extremely funny) about processing trauma. Simon and his two best friends Agate and Kevin are extremely easy characters to like and root for while also feeling like real middle schoolers. I loved the setting and the quirkiness of the book which never felt like it overrode the seriousness of what Simon's gone through. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Fatphobia

imstephtacular's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Gun violence, and Mass/school shootings

Moderate: Death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Animal cruelty, Medical content, Sexism, Fatphobia, Ableism, Blood, and Vomit

sab_reads14's review against another edition

dark emotional funny 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Mass/school shootings, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Child death, Death, and Grief

Minor: Vomit and Fatphobia