A review by endymionshawk
Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

mysterious reflective tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

This book felt messy and hasty. While it was interesting to read from a very different perspective (the self-hating jock who actually loves the beauty of football), it didn’t feel believable.
That Max bought into Christian homophobia of Alabama felt completely off for the character that he’d been built up to be. Or rather, since there wasn’t much character building, the character who I assumed he must have been from the details of his background—living in a liberal, secular, society with loving parents.
The themes in this story (reconciling belief systems, being part of a community, life/death, etc all felt so slap dash and half-hearted, especially given then ending. Nothing seemed closed. Yes, the ending has an open-ended bit stylistically and that’s fine. But there seems to be no conclusion for any of the themes or character building. It’s all just…..flat. Fizzled out. 
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