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A review by mattypallett
Jonny Appleseed by Joshua Whitehead
challenging
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
I knew a very small amount about indigenous Canadian culture before reading this book, and whilst it isn’t an encyclopaedia, it does a great job of informing the reader about the culture seamlessly, without losing the flow of the narrative.
Jonny is a very interesting and complex character, and I could always understand and relate to his motivations. I really appreciated the author explored the complexities of his queer and indigenous selves; it’s a fascinating intersection which I hadn’t seen expressed so in-depth before.
My only slight issues were as follows; 1) there was quite a few pop culture references, which I personally find kinda corny when reading, 2) the narrative isn’t linear and sometimes the time jumps were slightly unclear to me which would leave me confused for a few pages, 3) I personally feel like Jonny’s sexuality was tied for too heavily to just sex, rather than the emotional & romantic implications of sexual identity.
With all that being said, any of my issues with this book just come down to my own preferences, and even then, this book was gorgeous. 100% recommend.
Jonny is a very interesting and complex character, and I could always understand and relate to his motivations. I really appreciated the author explored the complexities of his queer and indigenous selves; it’s a fascinating intersection which I hadn’t seen expressed so in-depth before.
My only slight issues were as follows; 1) there was quite a few pop culture references, which I personally find kinda corny when reading, 2) the narrative isn’t linear and sometimes the time jumps were slightly unclear to me which would leave me confused for a few pages, 3) I personally feel like Jonny’s sexuality was tied for too heavily to just sex, rather than the emotional & romantic implications of sexual identity.
With all that being said, any of my issues with this book just come down to my own preferences, and even then, this book was gorgeous. 100% recommend.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Homophobia, and Physical abuse