Scan barcode
A review by otherworlds
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
I really liked this book for how it embodies a love letter to the queer Tennesseean experience, the memorable characters, and fun Southern Gothic vibes.
But some things about it wore on me as it went on... The prose grew repetitive as the author seemed attached to very specific descriptors that, while interesting the first few times, got old by the end of the book. The pacing was kind of off, too. And the characters, while interesting conceptually, were all under-developed except for Andrew, and suffered from the author's attempts to make them ~wild~ and ~edgy~ as opposed to truly embracing the reality of their lives. I am referring to all side characters but especially Sam, here. For someone whois the endgame love interest , there's just not a lot of detail given to his life! We're told he's a minimum wage worker who moonlights as a drug dealer to support his trans cousin, which is so fucking interesting and yet we barely got to see any of his life outside of partying. This all led to him feeling underutilized as a character. It's all a bit of a "tell not show" kind of thing. (Don't even get me started on Eddie - they kept calling him "monstrous" and yet we never actually get to see him do anything monstrous! The way they were hyping him up, I thought he'd killed someone with his mind or some shit lmao. ) I wish Mandelo had let these characters really breathe outside of their TRC-esque archetypes.
Also, I didn't like the resolution of the plot threads at the end. It just took the momentum away and left me feeling like, damn, all that build-up just for this? Especially regarding the supernatural elements. The whole last, maybe, third of the book felt extremely messy to me in a way that might suggest it was under-edited.
I don't want to shit on this book because I really did enjoy it, but that's why the let-down bothered me so much! I think there's great concepts here and you can tell Mandelo has skill, but there was just so much that needed to be further edited and refined.
But some things about it wore on me as it went on... The prose grew repetitive as the author seemed attached to very specific descriptors that, while interesting the first few times, got old by the end of the book. The pacing was kind of off, too. And the characters, while interesting conceptually, were all under-developed except for Andrew, and suffered from the author's attempts to make them ~wild~ and ~edgy~ as opposed to truly embracing the reality of their lives. I am referring to all side characters but especially Sam, here. For someone who
Also, I didn't like the resolution of the plot threads at the end. It just took the momentum away and left me feeling like, damn, all that build-up just for this? Especially regarding the supernatural elements. The whole last, maybe, third of the book felt extremely messy to me in a way that might suggest it was under-edited.
I don't want to shit on this book because I really did enjoy it, but that's why the let-down bothered me so much! I think there's great concepts here and you can tell Mandelo has skill, but there was just so much that needed to be further edited and refined.