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A review by ezrasupremacy
Yes, Daddy by Jonathan Parks-Ramage
4.0
forgive me in advance if this review is incoherent.
wow. what a read. i started this because saying “tragic gays are my favourite thing to read about” is entirely accurate, and while i did expect to enjoy this book, i did not expect to be blown away the way i was.
genuinely the only reason why i didn’t finish this book in one or two days (still only took four sittings though) is because i was too emotionally drained by this book to finish it quickly.
i don’t generally like thrillers because 9/10 times they just feel formulaic and predictable, but this was so entirely different to what i expect to see when i pick up a thriller, that it actually managed to equally surprise and shock me.
the characters were genuinely amazing — everyone starts of feeling like a parody of a person, but as you get to know them you get to see behind the mask, so to speak, and see the human (or monster) behind the façade. throughout the entire story you equally feel for and with jonah and also hate him for what he’s done. and mace, God, i needed to mention him because his centrality to the plot aside, his end fucking gutted me, because i had simply not expected it, and i really really wish he would’ve gotten to move on, live a happier life — but it’s not unreasonable for his story to have ended this way, which makes it so devastating, to me at least.
now to the plot;
the way that the story opens is intense, and sets the picture perfectly for what’s to come — you know that richard is going to be doing bad things, and from very early on in jonah's relationship with him you get glimpses at just how bad of a person he is, but when his play is finally revealed i genuinely sat there, jaw dropped open, and needed a few minutes to process what i had just read. of course we know something bad will happen to jonah at richard's hands, but the way he is put into this position as well as what he is forced to endure afterwards just really got to me — and i don't often feel emotional about experiences i cannot relate to, so i was rather surprised by that.
another part of this story that was very interesting to me personally was jonah's relationship with religion. i didn't grow up as strictly religious as he did, but my family was catholic so i at least understand his situation a little, and as someone who has recently reconnected with his beliefs despite of his identity, my heart started to feel warm when jonah managed to reconnect, managed to heal a little, but then the red flags started to pop up, and God, i just wanted to scream at him to run in the same was mace had told him to run years before. adding the aspect of this figure of someone who, on the surface, seems like the perfect member of this religious group, who ended up again and again betraying jonah's trust in him, lastly in one of the worst ways possible, actually made me tear up (which i need to mention because that has only happened for like maybe 5 or so books before). i really liked how his apprehension towards his father's religious community in the very end was portrayed, scared to trust but willing to push yourself and try for the sake of healing.
i will certainly keep an eye out for any other books this author publishes.
wow. what a read. i started this because saying “tragic gays are my favourite thing to read about” is entirely accurate, and while i did expect to enjoy this book, i did not expect to be blown away the way i was.
genuinely the only reason why i didn’t finish this book in one or two days (still only took four sittings though) is because i was too emotionally drained by this book to finish it quickly.
i don’t generally like thrillers because 9/10 times they just feel formulaic and predictable, but this was so entirely different to what i expect to see when i pick up a thriller, that it actually managed to equally surprise and shock me.
the characters were genuinely amazing — everyone starts of feeling like a parody of a person, but as you get to know them you get to see behind the mask, so to speak, and see the human (or monster) behind the façade. throughout the entire story you equally feel for and with jonah and also hate him for what he’s done. and mace, God, i needed to mention him because his centrality to the plot aside, his end fucking gutted me, because i had simply not expected it, and i really really wish he would’ve gotten to move on, live a happier life — but it’s not unreasonable for his story to have ended this way, which makes it so devastating, to me at least.
now to the plot;
the way that the story opens is intense, and sets the picture perfectly for what’s to come — you know that richard is going to be doing bad things, and from very early on in jonah's relationship with him you get glimpses at just how bad of a person he is, but when his play is finally revealed i genuinely sat there, jaw dropped open, and needed a few minutes to process what i had just read. of course we know something bad will happen to jonah at richard's hands, but the way he is put into this position as well as what he is forced to endure afterwards just really got to me — and i don't often feel emotional about experiences i cannot relate to, so i was rather surprised by that.
another part of this story that was very interesting to me personally was jonah's relationship with religion. i didn't grow up as strictly religious as he did, but my family was catholic so i at least understand his situation a little, and as someone who has recently reconnected with his beliefs despite of his identity, my heart started to feel warm when jonah managed to reconnect, managed to heal a little, but then the red flags started to pop up, and God, i just wanted to scream at him to run in the same was mace had told him to run years before. adding the aspect of this figure of someone who, on the surface, seems like the perfect member of this religious group, who ended up again and again betraying jonah's trust in him, lastly in one of the worst ways possible, actually made me tear up (which i need to mention because that has only happened for like maybe 5 or so books before). i really liked how his apprehension towards his father's religious community in the very end was portrayed, scared to trust but willing to push yourself and try for the sake of healing.
i will certainly keep an eye out for any other books this author publishes.