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anniekslibrary 's review for:
Deposing Nathan
by Zack Smedley
First of all, this book is so well written. I was drawn in right from the first page, and I was fully engaged in the story throughout the whole book. I would have read it in one sitting if I could have.
And it's just such a good book as well. If you want to read about lovable characters who make good choices, you should probably skip this. But that's what makes it interesting.
The author description says Zack Smedley's goal is to write "gritty, morally complex narratives", and that's exactly what this is. Nathan is a main character with a lot of issues to deal with. His mum died a few years prior to the story and now he lives with his father and his abusive aunt. He has to learn how to reconcile his Catholic faith with his bisexuality. And he makes bad choices. He screws up a lot.
It would be very easy to hate him, and I think in a lot of books, I would have. And it's really the biggest strength of this novel that I didn't. Because it's so easy to judge, and so human to make mistakes, even ones you can't fix. There was so much character development in that sense, with Nate becoming more self aware and realizing he has to work on himself. I absolutely loved the ending, because, without wanting to give anything away, it fits exactly with what the characters need.
Nowhere in this story are things black and white. And what's interesting is that, where most books try to wrap up everything nicely at the end, this book doesn't try to do that at all. Instead, it fully embraces the idea that people are always a work in progress, and even more so if they have issues to deal with. The best message it sends is that you can't expect others to fix your problems for you. You have to work through them alone. Of course, you can get support if needed, but at the end of the day, you're the one who's responsible for doing the work. You can't put that on anyone else.
Rep: bisexual MC, bisexual love interest, side character with anxiety & explicit use of medication, black side character in a wheelchair
CWs: violence, stabbing, abuse, (internalized) biphobia, homophobia, homophobic slurs, cheating, parental death in the past, panic attack
And it's just such a good book as well. If you want to read about lovable characters who make good choices, you should probably skip this. But that's what makes it interesting.
The author description says Zack Smedley's goal is to write "gritty, morally complex narratives", and that's exactly what this is. Nathan is a main character with a lot of issues to deal with. His mum died a few years prior to the story and now he lives with his father and his abusive aunt. He has to learn how to reconcile his Catholic faith with his bisexuality. And he makes bad choices. He screws up a lot.
It would be very easy to hate him, and I think in a lot of books, I would have. And it's really the biggest strength of this novel that I didn't. Because it's so easy to judge, and so human to make mistakes, even ones you can't fix. There was so much character development in that sense, with Nate becoming more self aware and realizing he has to work on himself. I absolutely loved the ending, because, without wanting to give anything away, it fits exactly with what the characters need.
Nowhere in this story are things black and white. And what's interesting is that, where most books try to wrap up everything nicely at the end, this book doesn't try to do that at all. Instead, it fully embraces the idea that people are always a work in progress, and even more so if they have issues to deal with. The best message it sends is that you can't expect others to fix your problems for you. You have to work through them alone. Of course, you can get support if needed, but at the end of the day, you're the one who's responsible for doing the work. You can't put that on anyone else.
Rep: bisexual MC, bisexual love interest, side character with anxiety & explicit use of medication, black side character in a wheelchair
CWs: violence, stabbing, abuse, (internalized) biphobia, homophobia, homophobic slurs, cheating, parental death in the past, panic attack