A review by sarahcherie
Boys of Alabama by Genevieve Hudson

slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I went in expecting a lot of critique on the culture of the South, beyond this idea of "rat magic" and calling the German family "Nazis", both of which felt cheap in comparison to the things that could actually be said about the South's actions both spiritually and interpersonally. I think I would have preferred this book without the magical element, because I feel that the magic in play kind of cheapens the effect. For example,

Spoiler

Lorne's death at the end was not made more impactful by Max's inability to resurrect him, but could have been more impactful as a true critique of the religious zealotry and homophobia of the South, and should have been expanded upon.

The ending was not a true ending, in my opinion, and it felt as though the author did not know how to continue the story, so they decided to simply end it instead. The side characters were fairly indistinguishable to me, and the writing style at times came across as very slow and laborious to get through. I had very high hopes for this based off the synopsis, as many elements seemed to be something I would relate to, but perhaps my familiarity with the things being critiqued in this book contributed to my distaste for it, and someone who is an outsider to the religious culture of the South might find this more intriguing.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Sexual assault, and Xenophobia

I wasn't the biggest fan of this one. I went in expecting a lot of critique on the culture of the South, beyond this idea of "rat magic" and calling the German family "Nazis", both of which felt cheap in comparison to the things that could actually be said about the South's actions both spiritually and interpersonally. I think I would have preferred this book without the magical element, because I feel that the magic in play kind of cheapens the effect. For example,

Lorne's death at the end was not made more impactful by Max's inability to resurrect him, but could have been more impactful as a true critique of the religious zealotry and homophobia of the South, and should have been expanded upon.

The ending was not a true ending, in my opinion, and it felt as though the author did not know how to continue the story, so they decided to simply end it instead. The side characters were fairly indistinguishable to me, and the writing style at times came across as very slow and laborious to get through. I had very high hopes for this based off the synopsis, as many elements seemed to be something I would relate to, but perhaps my familiarity with the things being critiqued in this book contributed to my distaste for it, and someone who is an outsider to the religious culture of the South might find this more intriguing.