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A review by bookishmillennial
Boys Weekend by Mattie Lubchansky
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial
Parts of this book *enraged* me, like I was so goddamn annoyed and exhausted of Sammie's cishet male friends, and one "pick me" cishet female friend. Sammie is chosen to be their best friend Adam's "best man" for Adam's upcoming nuptials. However, Sammie's wife encourages them to either skip the weekend or even re-assess the friendship (which was my reaction too, but I also deeply related to the resignation that Sammie felt in just wanting to "get through the weekend," and not "cause any drama". I wanted to hug them so bad.)
Sammie endures so much toxic masculinity, dudebro surface-level talk about money/MLM schemes/hating their wives/sports, and generally homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic rhetoric from this group of dusty crusty cishet dudebros, and it is *insufferable*, yet it is so authentic to my lived experience of whenever I'm in a room full of assholes. I also just wanted to scream when Adam made Sammie's transition about him, yelling, "It's a lot for me to handle too, you know" (idk if that's an exact quotation, but it's essentially what he said, and I wanted to smack him).
Adam could've stood up for his friend with so much more conviction and compassion, but alas, he's corny and I hate him. Irredeemable, I don't care hahaha. Being complicit and silent is just as bad, if not worse than being blatantly transphobic, because you're allowing the behavior and not making it crystal clear that you do not stand for the horrific behavior. Don't bother reposting any stories about allyship, on social media Adam!
The horror aspects of this graphic novel were the parts I kind of glossed over, because I was more invested in Sammie's story. However, it was gnarly and grisly!!!! The illustrations were really unique and edgy, compared to other graphic novels I have read lately, which I appreciated.
Parts of this book *enraged* me, like I was so goddamn annoyed and exhausted of Sammie's cishet male friends, and one "pick me" cishet female friend. Sammie is chosen to be their best friend Adam's "best man" for Adam's upcoming nuptials. However, Sammie's wife encourages them to either skip the weekend or even re-assess the friendship (which was my reaction too, but I also deeply related to the resignation that Sammie felt in just wanting to "get through the weekend," and not "cause any drama". I wanted to hug them so bad.)
Sammie endures so much toxic masculinity, dudebro surface-level talk about money/MLM schemes/hating their wives/sports, and generally homophobic, transphobic, and misogynistic rhetoric from this group of dusty crusty cishet dudebros, and it is *insufferable*, yet it is so authentic to my lived experience of whenever I'm in a room full of assholes. I also just wanted to scream when Adam made Sammie's transition about him, yelling, "It's a lot for me to handle too, you know" (idk if that's an exact quotation, but it's essentially what he said, and I wanted to smack him).
Adam could've stood up for his friend with so much more conviction and compassion, but alas, he's corny and I hate him. Irredeemable, I don't care hahaha. Being complicit and silent is just as bad, if not worse than being blatantly transphobic, because you're allowing the behavior and not making it crystal clear that you do not stand for the horrific behavior. Don't bother reposting any stories about allyship, on social media Adam!
The horror aspects of this graphic novel were the parts I kind of glossed over, because I was more invested in Sammie's story. However, it was gnarly and grisly!!!! The illustrations were really unique and edgy, compared to other graphic novels I have read lately, which I appreciated.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Sexism, Gore, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol