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A review by ayuming_reads
We Contain Multitudes by Sarah Henstra
emotional
hopeful
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.0
i need the book blurb to take aristotle and dante’s name out of its mouth right now. immediately.
like….idk. i am not a gay teenage boy so maybe i have no right to speak on this but how this relationship was depicted just felt very weird. like you know how a badly written gay couple will have the manly tall muscle and then the like tiny fragile feminine one? this is exactly how these two are depicted. kurl would wax poetic about jo’s tiny wrists and how fragile he looked and his collarbones and SNIFFED HIS ARMPIT?? and that was a whole kink i didn’t need to read about.
there was A LOT happening. kurl is a super senior who is being abused at home, which is very poorly handled. jo is a 15 year old out boy who is constantly harassed and bullied and assaulted and it’s painted like it’s his fault a lot??? i didn’t like that. he also has a dead mom who was addicted to drugs and became a hooker and died from an overdose.
oh and kurl’s brother is home from war and is dealing with PTSD and honestly it’s just way too much for this book.
jo’s sister sleeps with kurl, who she thinks is dating jo, and honestly it was very close to if not rape, which really is so odd because earlier in the book there’s an entire conversation with said sister involved in the conversation about how drunk people can’t consent and how it’s not fun. it was just a very very weird scene to add because it did nothing for the story. and having the sister do something so vile and never come back to is ??? she never acknowledges or apologizes for what she did.
this was just a very weird book.
like….idk. i am not a gay teenage boy so maybe i have no right to speak on this but how this relationship was depicted just felt very weird. like you know how a badly written gay couple will have the manly tall muscle and then the like tiny fragile feminine one? this is exactly how these two are depicted. kurl would wax poetic about jo’s tiny wrists and how fragile he looked and his collarbones and SNIFFED HIS ARMPIT?? and that was a whole kink i didn’t need to read about.
there was A LOT happening. kurl is a super senior who is being abused at home, which is very poorly handled. jo is a 15 year old out boy who is constantly harassed and bullied and assaulted and it’s painted like it’s his fault a lot??? i didn’t like that. he also has a dead mom who was addicted to drugs and became a hooker and died from an overdose.
oh and kurl’s brother is home from war and is dealing with PTSD and honestly it’s just way too much for this book.
jo’s sister sleeps with kurl, who she thinks is dating jo, and honestly it was very close to if not rape, which really is so odd because earlier in the book there’s an entire conversation with said sister involved in the conversation about how drunk people can’t consent and how it’s not fun. it was just a very very weird scene to add because it did nothing for the story. and having the sister do something so vile and never come back to is ??? she never acknowledges or apologizes for what she did.
this was just a very weird book.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, and Homophobia
Minor: Domestic abuse and Drug abuse