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A review by daffz
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley by Shaun David Hutchinson
3.0
This is a tough one to rate for me.
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley is undeniably a beautiful book. It's about a boy who is living in a hospital after his parents and sister died. The premise is a bit unrealistic, as he's basically hiding out there and always around and nobody really questions it, but I think the book expects you to look past that. I did (eventually) manage that. The main character is dealing with his grief and his guilt, while he forms friendship in the hospital he's living at. A new patient is brought in, a boy who has been burned horribly by his classmates who were bullying him for being gay. Andrew and this new boy form a bond as well.
But while I can objectively see the story was beautiful and had a lot of important themes it touched upon, I just didn't connect with it as much as I should have. I had trouble connecting to the characters, and even when horrible things happened I was largely unaffected. I liked the added illustrations in the form of a comic Andrew is writing and drawing, but not enough to push this book to a higher rating for me.
I feel like I kind of missed the point of all of it, and maybe it wasn't the right book for me. But if the premise sounds interesting to you, I would recommend giving it a try. It might resonate with you more.
The Five Stages of Andrew Brawley is undeniably a beautiful book. It's about a boy who is living in a hospital after his parents and sister died. The premise is a bit unrealistic, as he's basically hiding out there and always around and nobody really questions it, but I think the book expects you to look past that. I did (eventually) manage that. The main character is dealing with his grief and his guilt, while he forms friendship in the hospital he's living at. A new patient is brought in, a boy who has been burned horribly by his classmates who were bullying him for being gay. Andrew and this new boy form a bond as well.
But while I can objectively see the story was beautiful and had a lot of important themes it touched upon, I just didn't connect with it as much as I should have. I had trouble connecting to the characters, and even when horrible things happened I was largely unaffected. I liked the added illustrations in the form of a comic Andrew is writing and drawing, but not enough to push this book to a higher rating for me.
I feel like I kind of missed the point of all of it, and maybe it wasn't the right book for me. But if the premise sounds interesting to you, I would recommend giving it a try. It might resonate with you more.