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bookishpip's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
reflective
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? It's complicated
5.0
I received this book as a gift and I’m so glad that I did.
This is an absolutely gorgeous, heartwarming and heartbreaking account of growing up in a small Irish village. Very insular and religious, Lucy feels discomfort at the expectations of the people around her. She can’t understand why - until one summer when she begins to grow closer to her school friend, Susannah.
It’s an incredibly insightful account of coming to terms with a queer identity in the face of prejudice and discrimination. The fight between being true to herself and her love for Susannah or being accepted by everyone she knows and loves, is an internal turmoil so intimate and true to so many in the LGBTQ+ community, even today.
Although I’m so glad that this book exists and was so thankful to read this (and easy 5*!), go easy with this if LGBTQ+ discrimination (especially linked to religion) might be triggering for you.
🧡
This is an absolutely gorgeous, heartwarming and heartbreaking account of growing up in a small Irish village. Very insular and religious, Lucy feels discomfort at the expectations of the people around her. She can’t understand why - until one summer when she begins to grow closer to her school friend, Susannah.
It’s an incredibly insightful account of coming to terms with a queer identity in the face of prejudice and discrimination. The fight between being true to herself and her love for Susannah or being accepted by everyone she knows and loves, is an internal turmoil so intimate and true to so many in the LGBTQ+ community, even today.
Although I’m so glad that this book exists and was so thankful to read this (and easy 5*!), go easy with this if LGBTQ+ discrimination (especially linked to religion) might be triggering for you.
🧡
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Homophobia
Moderate: Eating disorder and Emotional abuse
shroff_sanjana's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
4.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Abandonment, and Infidelity
emisbooks's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
i cannot put my thoughts on this book into words. it was truly incredible.
the writing is so beautiful. the descriptions of love and yearning are so raw. the main themes of queerness, growing up female, homesickness, places, platonic and romantic love are explored so deeply. this book is equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. the characters feel like real people.
i feel really bad for martin. i have never seen a character be so dedicated to another only for that dedication to not be reciprocated in the way they want. ouch.
easiest 5 stars i've ever given. this is a new favourite book of all time for me. highly, HIGHLY recommend. i truly have no criticisms of this story.
the writing is so beautiful. the descriptions of love and yearning are so raw. the main themes of queerness, growing up female, homesickness, places, platonic and romantic love are explored so deeply. this book is equal parts heartbreaking and uplifting. the characters feel like real people.
easiest 5 stars i've ever given. this is a new favourite book of all time for me. highly, HIGHLY recommend. i truly have no criticisms of this story.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia
Moderate: Addiction, Sexual content, Drug use, and Cursing
Minor: Vomit
joensign's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Lesbophobia, Abandonment, and Homophobia
Minor: Death of parent and Eating disorder
queershark's review against another edition
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Lesbophobia
Moderate: Alcohol
Minor: Death of parent
booksillremember's review against another edition
emotional
funny
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
The way Howarth captures the hyperbole of teenage infatuation is just spot on - it feels comical and dead serious at the same time.
Often with novels like this, the protagonist is a misfit and rebel, "not like the other girls". But Lucy is exactly like the other girls - until she isn't.
This novel is a love letter to anyone who couldn't come out as a teen to themself or others whose love might have been conditional. A nuanced representation of comp-het in a society that is still recovering from the Catholic guilt imposed upon it.
Often with novels like this, the protagonist is a misfit and rebel, "not like the other girls". But Lucy is exactly like the other girls - until she isn't.
This novel is a love letter to anyone who couldn't come out as a teen to themself or others whose love might have been conditional. A nuanced representation of comp-het in a society that is still recovering from the Catholic guilt imposed upon it.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
rhyce_'s review against another edition
emotional
reflective
relaxing
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
This book is a masterpiece
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia
breanneporter's review against another edition
emotional
sad
slow-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
3.5
This was an atmospheric read; a bit slow but there was some beautiful writing and meditation on first love and the struggle of coming out when your family and friends have a different idea of who you should be and what your life should look like. It follows the inner monologue of a 15-year-old girl, Lucy, from a small Irish village, as she falls in love with her female best friend and is torn between her passionate love for her and her peaceful platonic love for her childhood (boy) best friend. We see her through her final years in high school and her first few years of adulthood. It takes place in the early 90s, though there’s almost no reference to the Triubles (or any Irish politics of history from the er, which seems realistic since we’re completely inside the mind of a teenage girl in romantic crisis). Because the POV is solely Lucy’s, the other characters seem underbaked, by design. But there’s a lot of relatable stuff and I found my attention ebbing and flowing as I read. I’m not sure I’d recommend or read again but it was a pleasant enough voyage into the recent past.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Homophobia and Sexual content
bookishlittleme's review against another edition
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
reflective
relaxing
sad
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
4.5
That was exactly the book I needed to read right now. I could not put it down and that’s the first time that’s happened in a while! This book was beautifully written and nailed the inner monologue of a teenage girl. It’s hard to like the protagonist, Lucy, at times but you understand her struggle and desperation which is deeply gut wrenching. Glad she didn’t end up with Susannah though! If you liked Normal People you’ll probably also like this and you should read it cause I want a film adaptation.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia, Outing, Abandonment, and Infidelity
Minor: Abortion, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Cancer
emir214's review against another edition
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
"I need you to read this. My heart is in a million pieces." This is the text I sent to my friends halfway through because I wanted to talk with someone about how beautiful Sunburn is. It captures the feelings of figuring out your sexuality alongside someone who wants you back in such a beautiful, heartbreaking way. I will never stop recommending this book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Homophobia