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A review by citrus_seasalt
Man o' War by Cory McCarthy
5.0
Edit: raised my rating to 5 stars! Even though it isn’t perfect, it deeply emotionally affected me. And I want to start rating books higher based more on their personal impact. Pardon the sassy start of the review, in that case.
Part Bildungsroman that sometimes got lost in its aquarium-lit nostalgia and melancholy, part semi-average coming-out YA contemporary, always emotionally dense, fluid, and such a realistic look into dysphoria and the pain of being closeted that it was sometimes draining. Thank you to Alex (@obscure.pages) for recommending this so highly! I think I’d have to be bribed with an absurd amount of money to go through this again, but the writing was beautiful and absolutely visceral.
River is a character I don’t expect everyone to like. They’re self-deprecating (and even self-sabotaging), frequently resentful or anxious, and their growth is a very slow process, where within that awkward timeframe that it can’t quite happen yet (when they don’t have access to all of themself), they take out their resentment on others. The small-town Ohio setting was intrinsically tied to their identity-based claustrophobia, something that I thought that, while not written with subtlety, was tangible and easy to empathize with. I loved seeing a coming out story like theirs. It was complex and longer-term, in a way that is rarely depicted in queer media. Their characterization is complex, too, and goodness, that’s always wonderful to see even if sometimes results in mortifying decisions! Seeing them grow up was also a bittersweet and rewarding experience.
I liked the side characters, too. Indy and Catherine’s ever-changing characterization through River’s eyes was especially interesting: Catherine goes from feeling a little superficial, to being a realistic depiction of a long-distance but good friend that pops in and out of your life. Her bluntness goes hand-in-hand with River’s, but she’s more confident and not as jaded. Indy… I had mixed feelings on, I won’t lie, just because of how heavily they’re idolized at first, and their relationship with River sometimes tiptoeing into codependency. (Although, a lot of that is addressed.) For that reason, I found it difficult to root for the main relationship, and didn’t give this book a perfect rating. However, as much as the break up pissed me off, the writing being more obvious about Indy’s commitment issues helped to characterize them as someone imperfect.
Side characters, cont: I enjoyed River’s support system, too. Namely, the Chengs, Everett (I liked his solidarity especially when him and River were teens, even if he didn’t have a ton of on-page time with them), and the highschool swim characters (they have more development than the college ones, lol). Their role in River’s development was obvious, but they were still endearing. A lot of that, I think, comes from how personal in nature the plot feels. There’s definitely a feeling of looking back on all these memories with a mix of sadness and joy, that just radiates from the pages.
I definitely feel like this is like “The Ship We Built” by Lexie Bean in that it near-flawlessly encapsulates the mindset of the age group it’s writing about. (This time, though, I get to be in the target age range!! What a special experience!) Specifically regarding River’s anticipatory nostalgia, I can see it being too much melodrama for some, and I found it a little repetitive I’ll admit, but I remember feeling that way throughout both middle and highschool, haha! Holy shit though, I love that the teenage experience isn’t romanticized. Mrs Cheng’s conversation with River (and the quote that came from it) was incredibly validating. River’s youth ticks some coming-of-age flick checkboxes, however, there’s still the suffocating feeling of still being young enough to have to live under your parent’s house and control, while you figure out yourself and your independence.
I agree with Laurel on this being a unique YA novel. I hope more people check it out. I hope this helps teens and can get in language arts curriculums one day. I definitely won’t be looking at Portuguese man o’ wars the same way.
(P.S., someone please make this into a film!! I’ll pay hundreds of dollars just to fly to wherever it plays.)
Part Bildungsroman that sometimes got lost in its aquarium-lit nostalgia and melancholy, part semi-average coming-out YA contemporary, always emotionally dense, fluid, and such a realistic look into dysphoria and the pain of being closeted that it was sometimes draining. Thank you to Alex (@obscure.pages) for recommending this so highly! I think I’d have to be bribed with an absurd amount of money to go through this again, but the writing was beautiful and absolutely visceral.
River is a character I don’t expect everyone to like. They’re self-deprecating (and even self-sabotaging), frequently resentful or anxious, and their growth is a very slow process, where within that awkward timeframe that it can’t quite happen yet (when they don’t have access to all of themself), they take out their resentment on others. The small-town Ohio setting was intrinsically tied to their identity-based claustrophobia, something that I thought that, while not written with subtlety, was tangible and easy to empathize with. I loved seeing a coming out story like theirs. It was complex and longer-term, in a way that is rarely depicted in queer media. Their characterization is complex, too, and goodness, that’s always wonderful to see even if sometimes results in mortifying decisions! Seeing them grow up was also a bittersweet and rewarding experience.
I liked the side characters, too. Indy and Catherine’s ever-changing characterization through River’s eyes was especially interesting: Catherine goes from feeling a little superficial, to being a realistic depiction of a long-distance but good friend that pops in and out of your life. Her bluntness goes hand-in-hand with River’s, but she’s more confident and not as jaded. Indy… I had mixed feelings on, I won’t lie, just because of how heavily they’re idolized at first, and their relationship with River sometimes tiptoeing into codependency. (Although, a lot of that is addressed.) For that reason, I found it difficult to root for the main relationship, and didn’t give this book a perfect rating. However, as much as the break up pissed me off, the writing being more obvious about Indy’s commitment issues helped to characterize them as someone imperfect.
Side characters, cont: I enjoyed River’s support system, too. Namely, the Chengs, Everett (I liked his solidarity especially when him and River were teens, even if he didn’t have a ton of on-page time with them), and the highschool swim characters (they have more development than the college ones, lol). Their role in River’s development was obvious, but they were still endearing. A lot of that, I think, comes from how personal in nature the plot feels. There’s definitely a feeling of looking back on all these memories with a mix of sadness and joy, that just radiates from the pages.
I definitely feel like this is like “The Ship We Built” by Lexie Bean in that it near-flawlessly encapsulates the mindset of the age group it’s writing about. (This time, though, I get to be in the target age range!! What a special experience!) Specifically regarding River’s anticipatory nostalgia, I can see it being too much melodrama for some, and I found it a little repetitive I’ll admit, but I remember feeling that way throughout both middle and highschool, haha! Holy shit though, I love that the teenage experience isn’t romanticized. Mrs Cheng’s conversation with River (and the quote that came from it) was incredibly validating. River’s youth ticks some coming-of-age flick checkboxes, however, there’s still the suffocating feeling of still being young enough to have to live under your parent’s house and control, while you figure out yourself and your independence.
I agree with Laurel on this being a unique YA novel. I hope more people check it out. I hope this helps teens and can get in language arts curriculums one day. I definitely won’t be looking at Portuguese man o’ wars the same way.
(P.S., someone please make this into a film!! I’ll pay hundreds of dollars just to fly to wherever it plays.)