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A review by archiveofrasa
Idlewild by James Frankie Thomas
reflective
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
4.75
when I started reading this, I genuinely didn't think I would reread it right after I finished it just to tab and annotate the shit out of it, but look at me now
this book really holds some of the most complex explorations of queerness I've ever read. what I went into this knowing was that Idlewild explores queerness within friendships and how both the main characters' experiences of queerness affect that friendship. it was sooo interesting to read, seeing these characters unravel and try to reach for queerness that ends up destroying themselves and each other in the end. it's also Very Millennial and Thomas does an excellent job portraying both the sympathetic experiences of Millenials but also the criticism and cringe that naturally comes along with it.
Nell and Fay are both such fantastically crafted characters and it actually pains me that I can't find out anything more about them than what I have already annotated. I'm so certain there is, I just won't see it at the moment 😔 I love seeing friends care for each other and miss each other and you get so much of that here, even though there is a lot of resentment between the two of them which hurt me in so many ways, it was just so good. the miscommunication was also so realistic to the characters and their circumstances, every single line they said made me just tragically wail "of course she would fucking say that!" instead of "why did she say that?". rarely has a book made me do that and I admire Idlewild for it so much.
the side plots were also very intriguing – I did not expect to see a commentary on how Millennials were taught to see race and racism, so I was a bit jarred by it, especially because it was written by a white author and you can tell in some areas 😠but! that being said, there is still a lot of nuance with specifically the character affected and while the racism he experienced was incredibly yikes(!!!), I adored him and how he reacted to it was very well written. on the other hand, we have Theo, which gets a bit spoilery ðŸ˜while this is just a theory, from what I gathered, I feel as if he has a personality disorder as a result of being directly affected by 9/11? especially with his thing of derealisation and outbursts. I'm not too sure how to feel about this given his portrayal in the book, but I feel like that's what the author was getting at.
I don't know what is exactly holding me back from a 5 star rating other than how I felt about the latter two points (and also, after reading so many books by POC, maybe this story felt a biiit too white for me ðŸ˜) but I still think this is a really well-crafted novel. I may or may not change the rating depending on how I feel as I sit on it, but this book will definitely stay with me for a long time
this book really holds some of the most complex explorations of queerness I've ever read. what I went into this knowing was that Idlewild explores queerness within friendships and how both the main characters' experiences of queerness affect that friendship. it was sooo interesting to read, seeing these characters unravel and try to reach for queerness that ends up destroying themselves and each other in the end. it's also Very Millennial and Thomas does an excellent job portraying both the sympathetic experiences of Millenials but also the criticism and cringe that naturally comes along with it.
Nell and Fay are both such fantastically crafted characters and it actually pains me that I can't find out anything more about them than what I have already annotated. I'm so certain there is, I just won't see it at the moment 😔 I love seeing friends care for each other and miss each other and you get so much of that here, even though there is a lot of resentment between the two of them which hurt me in so many ways, it was just so good. the miscommunication was also so realistic to the characters and their circumstances, every single line they said made me just tragically wail "of course she would fucking say that!" instead of "why did she say that?". rarely has a book made me do that and I admire Idlewild for it so much.
the side plots were also very intriguing – I did not expect to see a commentary on how Millennials were taught to see race and racism, so I was a bit jarred by it, especially because it was written by a white author and you can tell in some areas 😠but! that being said, there is still a lot of nuance with specifically the character affected and while the racism he experienced was incredibly yikes(!!!), I adored him and how he reacted to it was very well written. on the other hand, we have Theo, which gets a bit spoilery ðŸ˜
I don't know what is exactly holding me back from a 5 star rating other than how I felt about the latter two points (and also, after reading so many books by POC, maybe this story felt a biiit too white for me ðŸ˜) but I still think this is a really well-crafted novel. I may or may not change the rating depending on how I feel as I sit on it, but this book will definitely stay with me for a long time
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Toxic friendship, and Dysphoria
Moderate: Violence and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Homophobia and War
Both the F and D slurs are used in this novel.