A review by bookishandlegal
The Guncle by Steven Rowley

emotional funny lighthearted fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

This book was a tad overhyped for me. I generally really enjoyed it but I didn’t find it as amazing as everyone has been saying it is. Some of it was pretty cheesy, but I was okay with that…it was fun. There were a lot of references and quotes to old movies/musicals and I only got about half of them. 

The kids were adorable and I just loved them. I really liked seeing both the kids and Patrick deal with their own grief and start to try to move forward with life. I really loved that Patrick was dealing with his own grief and that the kids were helping with that…it was really lovely. There were also a lot of good breaking of gender stereotypes and lessons of being your own person, dressing how you want, and doing what you want regardless of what society thinks that I was really into. 

Overall, this was a really fun book! Sometimes it felt a little long or the pacing felt a bit off. But I did very much enjoy reading this and it’s the perfect summertime pool or beach read! 
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